Hungaroton: István, a király (Stephen, the King) — Szörényi & Bródy Rock Opera 2-CD

In VERY GOOD condition! As pictured! Buy with confidence!

Product Details:

• Product Type: Audio CD (2-disc set)
• Brand / Label: Hungaroton
• Composers: Szörényi Levente (music), Bródy János (lyrics)
• Title: István, a király (Stephen, the King) — rock opera
• Based on: Boldizsár Miklós's play Ezredforduló
• Release Year: 1988 (this CD edition); work premiered 1983
• Genre: Rock Opera
• Catalogue No.: HCD 14133–34
• UPC / EAN: not visible in photos — please confirm from the barcode

Product Features

• Format: CD
• Discs: 2
• Sound: Stereo, AAD, digitally remastered
• Sung in: Hungarian
• Made in: Hungary
• Rights: Artisjus
• Condition: Very Good (VG) — used, as pictured

Overview

István, a király is the most important Hungarian rock opera ever written, and this Hungaroton double disc is its definitive studio recording. Szörényi Levente composed the music, Bródy János wrote the lyrics, and the story — drawn from Boldizsár Miklós's play Ezredforduló — dramatizes the founding moment of the Hungarian state around the year 1000: the struggle between Prince István (Stephen), who turns the country toward Christianity and the West, and his rival Koppány, who fights to keep the old pagan order.

The piece premiered open-air on Királydomb in Budapest's Városliget on 20 August 1983, directed by Koltay Gábor, and became a cultural landmark — its songs are still sung across generations in Hungary. This recording captures the original cast in full: Varga Miklós as István, Vikidál Gyula as Koppány, Sebestyén Márta as Réka, Nagy Feró, Deák "Bill" Gyula, and many more, backed by members of Illés and Fonográf alongside the Hungarian State Opera orchestra and chorus.

It opens, fittingly, with Beethoven's King Stephen overture (Op. 117). For collectors of Hungarian rock, world music, or political theatre, this is a cornerstone recording — and a clean two-disc copy is increasingly hard to find.

Interesting Facts

• The 1983 open-air premiere on Királydomb drew enormous crowds and is remembered as one of the defining cultural events of late-socialist Hungary.
• The opera opens with Beethoven's King Stephen overture, Op. 117, originally written for the inauguration of a theatre in Pest in 1812.
• The lead role of István was sung by Varga Miklós, while his rival Koppány was performed by Vikidál Gyula — a casting that pitted two of Hungary's biggest rock voices against each other.
• Folk singer Sebestyén Márta plays Réka, bringing an authentic traditional-music thread into the rock score.
• The work was filmed by director Koltay Gábor as a feature production with MAFILM, cementing its place beyond the stage.
• Symphonic orchestration was handled by Mártha István, with brass arrangements by Dés László; the overture is played by the Budapest Philharmonic Society Orchestra under Oberfrank Géza.

Track Listing (Disc 1 — Part I as shown on the insert)

Az örökség (The Heritage)

1. Beethoven: István király — nyitány, Op. 117 — 7:31
2. Te kit választanál? (Illés) — 3:40
3. Töltsd el szívünk fényesség / Veni lumen cordium — 6:23
4. Gyarló az ember — 1:38
5. Nem vagyunk még hozzád méltók / Nem kell olyan Isten — 4:07
6. Géza fejedelem temetése / Kyrie eleison — 3:55
7. Nincs más út csak az Isten útja — 5:12

Esztergom

1. Adj békét, Uram / Da pacem Domine — 2:24
2. Üdvöz légyen Géza fia / Koppány küldött jó úrnőm — 3:24
3. Abcug Koppány — 1:39
4. István fiam! — 2:58
5. Unom a politikát — 1:52
6. Fejedelmünk István! — 4:27
7. Oly távol vagy tőlem (és mégis közel) — 4:15

Disc 2 (Part II) isn't pictured, so its tracks aren't listed here. Send a photo of the second tracklist and I'll add it.

Publishers

Released by Hungaroton in 1988 (P 1988), made in Hungary. Recorded at MHV and Főnix Studios; sound engineers Kálmán Sándor and Bohus János; musical director Szörényi Szabolcs. Rights administered by Artisjus. Graphic design by Aba Béla.

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