Anniversary programs in Vigadó
On its 150th anniversary Vigadó is offering a series of programs, including concerts, theatrical performances, literary events, exhibitions, progressing from 12 January through the Day of Hungarian Culture on 22 January until 20 February.
With a grand exhibition (between 13 January and 1 February) MMA paid homage to the the legendary puppeteer Henrik Kemény, who died in 2011 at the age of 87.
Henrik Kemény was one of the greatest puppeteer of the current age, a winner of Kossuth State Award and a late member of MMA.
For eighty years Henrik Kemény always welcomed his audience with the line, "Hi, buddies, do you like chocolate?" from behind his self-made screen, with a László Vitéz puppet on his hand. He started as a puppeteer at the age of six. His unpublished memoir, "My Life is Puppetry from Cradle to Grave" begin with a sentence often uttered by him: "I want to play as long as I can raise my hands. I want to die on stage!"
He was born in Budapest on 29 January 1925. He received a degree in puppetry in 1964, but he had already begun practicing the profession long before that. He grew up in his family's sideshow booth, and he continued the century-old tradition cultivated by his father and grandfather. He played his first lead role in 1935, the same year he made his first puppet. In 1945, he took over the theatre from his father. At the beginning of the 1950s, the amusement park in People's Park closed, and the theatre became a part of the State Puppet Theatre. During the two decades there, Kemény made puppets and performed. He later returned to the wandering theatre. He also worked in television, he created a lot of popular figures, including Süsü and Hakapeszi Maki. The figure of László Vitéz is one of Hungary's national treasures. He is an internationally acclaimed great master of the genre. He died on 30 November 2011 in Debrecen. His intellectual property and puppeteer legacy has been preserved by the Korngut-Kemény Foundation, which he founded in 2006.
As part of the anniversary series of Vigadó the following programs were or are on schedule:
Henrik Kemény was one of the greatest puppeteer of the current age, a winner of Kossuth State Award and a late member of MMA.
For eighty years Henrik Kemény always welcomed his audience with the line, "Hi, buddies, do you like chocolate?" from behind his self-made screen, with a László Vitéz puppet on his hand. He started as a puppeteer at the age of six. His unpublished memoir, "My Life is Puppetry from Cradle to Grave" begin with a sentence often uttered by him: "I want to play as long as I can raise my hands. I want to die on stage!"
He was born in Budapest on 29 January 1925. He received a degree in puppetry in 1964, but he had already begun practicing the profession long before that. He grew up in his family's sideshow booth, and he continued the century-old tradition cultivated by his father and grandfather. He played his first lead role in 1935, the same year he made his first puppet. In 1945, he took over the theatre from his father. At the beginning of the 1950s, the amusement park in People's Park closed, and the theatre became a part of the State Puppet Theatre. During the two decades there, Kemény made puppets and performed. He later returned to the wandering theatre. He also worked in television, he created a lot of popular figures, including Süsü and Hakapeszi Maki. The figure of László Vitéz is one of Hungary's national treasures. He is an internationally acclaimed great master of the genre. He died on 30 November 2011 in Debrecen. His intellectual property and puppeteer legacy has been preserved by the Korngut-Kemény Foundation, which he founded in 2006.
As part of the anniversary series of Vigadó the following programs were or are on schedule:
| 2015. 01. 22. | 10.00 | Open house |
| 2015. 01. 23. | 19.00 | Kati Lázár: Kripli Mari – theatrical time travel |
| 2015. 02. 17. | 19.30 | Liszt: vanderer of Europe – a concert of the Honvéd male choire |
| 2015. 02. 18. | 19.00 | Örkény–Berényi: The Szkalla Girls – theatrical time travel |
| 2015. 02. 19. | 19.30 | Concert of Dohnányi Orchestra of Budafok |
| 2015. 02. 20. | 19.00 | Menyhért Tamás: Mikes – Literature on the stage |
January 19, 2015
