A Vihar

Introduction

"The Tempest" is a play by English writer William Shakespeare written in 1610-1611. At the end of 2001 Hungarian director György Schwajda (1943-2010) approached Vangelis to request some music for his staging of the Hungarian adaptation of Shakespeare’s play, "A Vihar", which Vangelis kindly provided free of charge.

A Vihar was the first play to be staged in the Nemzeti Színház, the -then- brand new national theatre of Hungary in Budapest. While its first performance on the 25rd of March 2002 was for invited guests only, it opened for the general public on the 6th of April and officially premiered with a gala evening on the 12th of April 2002. The two-hour play is described as a ‘poetic play in two parts’, and was designed to make good use of the advanced technical features of the new stage.

Vangelis initially composed some 70 minutes of music in 12 movements for the play, and then composed two more pieces including a special wedding dance. Some 38 minutes of this music ended up in fragments in the play, and is at times medieval, romantic or dramatic. The original opening theme of the play can also be heard in a slightly different arrangement as ‘Jupiter Rex’ on the album "Juno To Jupiter" (2021). For one piece Vangelis worked with Konstantinos Paliatsaras, the Greek tenor that also sang on one track of Vangelis’ album "Foros Timis Ston Greko" (1995). The tenor published the full aria online in 2012.

Director Schwajda was truly impressed with Vangelis and in an interview described him as ‘the modern and greatest composer of the 21st century. I hold Vangelis in high regard as one of the great composers of the modern era. It's an honor for me that he accepted this invitation’. In the programme booklet of A Vihar Vangelis responded: ‘I wish that the Hungarian National Theatre will be a transmitter of positive messages and values, which we need more today than ever before. I am very happy to have contributed to the launch of the theater’.

Details and credits

Title: A Vihar (The Tempest)
Year: 2002
Country: Hungary
Length:
Directed by György Schwajda.
Assistant Director: Zsuzsa Bencze
Written by William Shakespeare.
Translated by Mihály Babits.
Music by Vangelis.
Featuring Konstantinos Paliatsaras – tenor.
Sound engineer: Vangelis Saitis
Music editor: Frederick Rousseau
Costume designer: Ildikó Debreczeni
Set designer: János Mira
Music director: György Selmeczi
Collaborator: Sándor Román

Cast

Miklós Benedek - Prospero (the rightful Duke of Milan)
Melinda Major - Miranda (Prospero’s daughter)
Eszter Nagy-Kálózy - Ariel (airy spirit)
Péter Vida - Caliban (enslaved servant of Prospero)
János Bán - Antonio (Prospero's brother, the usurping Duke of Milan)
László Ujlaky - Alonso (King of Naples)
Tamás Balikó - Sebastian (Alonso’s brother)
András Stohl - Ferdinand (son of Alonso)
István Iglódi - Gonzalo (faithful old counsillor)
István Mészáros - Trinculo (the King’s jester)
Frigyesi Hollósi - Stephano (the King’s drunken butler)
Ottó Pécz – Francisco, captain of the ship
Gábor Zelei, Dávid Zsanitter – Boatswain
Zsolt Torma - Adrian (a lord serving under Alonso)

Performances

25th of March 2002 (invited guests only)
April: 6, 7, 12, 13, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 29.
May: 1, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 27, 28.
June: 1, 2, 8, 9.
October: 7, 23, 31.
November: 10, 12, 14, 16.
December: 4.

Media

Unfortunately recordings of the performance or the music were never officially released, but there are audience recordings of the music available online.

Links

Gallery

"A Vihar" programme booklet: Front / Credits / Vangelis bio / Vangelis note / Konstantinos Paliatsaras / Back