Hungarian State Folk Ensemble: His Cross Blossomed
Dance drama for the feast of Easter
5 April 2026 | 7.00 pm
Müpa Budapest — Béla Bartók National Concert Hall
Performed by:
dancers and orchestra of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble (ensemble leader: Gábor Mihályi)
Music editors:
István Szalonna Pál, Tamás Bubnó, Attila Gera, Milán Hetényi, Attila Mihó
Featuring:
Júlia Kubinyi, Eszter Pál, Milán Hetényi – voice, Ilona Molnár – koboz, Gábor Gera – accordion, Domonkos Farkas – organ, Gergely Okos – ütőgardon, drums, Saint Ephraim Male Choir (artistic directors: Tamás Bubnó, Lőrinc Bubnó), Concert Ensemble of Budapesti Énekes Iskola (artistic directors: Tamás Bubnó, János Mezei), students of the Hungarian Dance Academy (head of department: Béla Ónodi)
Music director, artistic director:
István Szalonna Pál
Musical director:
Ferenc Radics
Orchestra leader:
Gyula Karacs
Dance troupe leader:
György Ágfalvi
Assistants to the dance troupe:
Beatrix Borbély, Katalin Jávor, Klára Hetényi-Kulcsár, Péter Darabos, Máté Farkas
Ethnography consultant:
János Vas
Production design:
György Árvai
Animation:
Zsolt Korai
Traditional costumes consultants:
Krisztina Palik, Edit Szűcs, Borbála Winklerné Petri-Kiss
Costumes:
Edit Szűcs
Sound:
Péter Szabó
Lighting:
Ákos Gimpel
Assistants to the choreographers:
Beatrix Borbély, Andrea Lévay
Choreographers:
György Ágfalvi, Máté Farkas, Klára Hetényi-Kulcsár, Zsolt Juhász
Choreographer, director:
Gábor Mihályi
The Hungarian State Folk Ensemble’s dance production for the Easter holiday relies as much on the liturgies of the different denominations as on the ancient peasant customs and songs of regions in the Carpathian Basin that lie at great distances from each other. The respective Easter rituals of the Székely Land, the Rábaköz, former Upper Hungary and the south of the Great Hungarian Plain – both Christian and pagan – are linked in a unified dramatic form.
The exciting musical fabric of the performance consists not only of folk songs, religious folk tunes and dance music, but also the Easter-themed songs of the Roman Catholic, Protestant, Greek Catholic and Orthodox churches, as well as archaic folk prayers. Most of the latter are rooted in the distant past, the time before the conversion to Christianity.
The exciting musical fabric of the performance consists not only of folk songs, religious folk tunes and dance music, but also the Easter-themed songs of the Roman Catholic, Protestant, Greek Catholic and Orthodox churches, as well as archaic folk prayers. Most of the latter are rooted in the distant past, the time before the conversion to Christianity.
This performance of the Bartók Spring was presented by Müpa Budapest as a joint event with Hungarian Heritage House – Hungarian State Folk Ensemble.
