Director: Gábor Koltay
Cast: László Pelsöczy, Miklós Varga, Gyula Vikidál
Music: Levente Szörényi
Lyrics: János Bródy, Gábor Koltay, Miklós Boldizsár
Hungary, 1984, 100’, color
Hungarian with Turkish subtitles
The Stephen the King is an iconic Hungarian rock-opera composed by Levente Szörényi and Lajos Bródy based on the life of Saint Stephen of Hungary. The show was first staged in 1983. The choice of a theme was both strongly connected with national history and with the Christian religion seemed rather daring in the Hungary of the early 1980s. The opera is based on actual historical events, yet treats them quite freely. In the late 10th century, Géza, ruling prince (fejedelem) of the pagan Magyar (Hungarian) people recognized that his people would not have a future if they did not found a Christian state. He invited Catholic missionaries to his lands and let his son Vajk be baptized István (Stephen) and brought up as a Catholic.
I remembered a game as I was waiting in the passenger lounge for the ferry to arrive just a few minutes ago. A game we used to play at home when I was young, in my country that is very far away from here, a relic from the distant past; I don’t even remember how we used to play it. The kind of game that makes me feel a thousand times lonelier than I already am among the crowd waiting to get on the ferry.
I think it was Frank Zappa – though others claim it was Laurie Anderson – who said in an interview that ‘writing on music is much like dancing on architecture’.
Over the years of 1864 through 1876, Stanisław Chlebowski served Sultan Abdülaziz in Istanbul as his court painter. As it was, Abdülaziz disposed of considerable artistic talents of his own, and he actively involved himself in Chlebowski’s creative process, suggesting ideas for compositions –such as ballistic pieces praising the victories of Turkish arms.
Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 - 19:00
Friday 10:00 - 22:00
Sunday 12:00 - 18:00
The museum is closed on Mondays.
On Wednesdays, the students can
visit the museum free of admission.
Full ticket: 300 TL
Discounted: 150 TL
Groups: 200 TL (minimum 10 people)
