2024. September

Location

ArtMill

Curator:

Laura Fábián

Opening:

2024. September

brochure

The temporary exhibition being prepared for the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Szentendre-born tenorist Ferenc Stéger (1824–1911), is considered to fill a gap. The exhibition presents previously unknown details of the extraordinarily successful Hungarian and international career and life of the undeservedly forgotten former star singer. The Ferenczy Museum Center preserves the singer’s heritage (nearly five hundred items), which displays the domestic and foreign aspects of his nearly thirty-year career. Stéger was one of the leading tenors of the National Theater in Pest for decades in several cycles. He was the protagonist in the well-known László Hunyadi and Bánk bán operas. Her close friendship with Ferenc Erkel (in addition to their professional relationship) is also an substantial section of the exhibition. Besides to Stéger’s personal items, the FMC’s collection includes important music history documents and rarities. The exhibition is being prepared on loan from several domestic and international museums and research institutes: next to the main material, we will also exhibit documents and objects related to Stéger that have not been presented to the public before.
In Stéger’s case, even the numbers speak for themselves: by 1874, he played more than sixty roles, mainly from the Italian and French opera repertoires. During this time, he appeared on stage more than 2,000 times, and in theaters in more than 50 cities. Furthermore to his family background in Szentendre, we show his career beginning from 1846/1847 in Zagreb, Vienna, Prague, Italian- and German cities, Barcelona, Kolozsvár and Bucharest, and last but not least, his periods at the National Theatre in Pest.