Angela Császár’s career is unique among Hungarian actors. Immediately after graduating from the Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest (now: University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest), she signed a contract with the National Theatre and remained there until her retirement. Her decades-long career in the National was interrupted only by a few years abroad, but she stayed loyal to the theatre. Even when the National Theatre lost its national status and was renamed the Hungarian Theatre of Pest, she remained committed.

Although she did not set out to be an actress, she was interested in singing and reciting from an early age. On her teachers’ advice, she applied to the Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest, where she was immediately accepted. Her talent was quickly recognised at the National Theatre during her college years. As a student, she appeared in the 1967 production of The Miser, directed by István Egri. As Mariane, “she is not only beautiful, but also vivacious: without claiming undue importance, we believe we are witnessing the turning point of her fate [1].” A year later, she played the role of Mariane in Molière's Tartuffe, “with a lovely naturalness [2].” Between 1967 and 1987, she appeared more than 400 times with Imre Sinkovits in Moses [play by Imre Madách, 1861]. In these performances, she played all the female roles except Moses’ mother (Amra, Miriam, and in the 1986 revival: Cipporah).

She joined the National Theatre in 1968, but the following year attracted attention in the countryside. Her debut in Eurydice at the Katona József Theatre in Kecskemét, directed by Béla Udvaros, was a critical success. Critics called her “an ideal Eurydice in every respect” and praised her for dramatic depth and maturity, noting her lyric strength and subtle stage presence.

After the lead role in Eurydice, she showcased her skills in The Idiot in Budapest. She played Aglaya and performed in Hindi as Bandanai in Conduct Unbecoming. Later, she was cast as Piroska in Mukányi [play by Gergely Csiky, 1880] and as Venus in Helen of Troy.

In the mid-1970s, she considered leaving the theatre, but changed her mind. The management accepted her decision, but she was not assigned new roles for some time.

In 1976, she was cast as Ledér in Csongor és Tünde (lit. Csongor and Tünde). This allowed her to show her comic side: “The Ledér she plays makes use of the most modern parody techniques [6].” Later, as Hettie in The Kitchen, she “provides a talented and unique performance in the ‘crowd’ of waitresses [7].” In Gábor Zsámbéki’s direction, “with a smile crossing her face and straightening her tired waist, she portrays this driven woman in such a way that we feel she has a destiny, even if she could be the protagonist [8].”

Tired of not being able to fully exploit her talents on the National’s stage, she began putting together her solo performances. She debuted in 1976 with Rejtelmek (lit. Mysteries) [subtitle of the poem Flóra (lit. Flora) by Attila József, 1937]. She continued in 1979 with Akarsz-e játszani? (lit. Would You like to Play?) [poem by Dezső Kosztolányi, 1912] at various venues. The latter production consisted of carefully selected poems by Hungarian poets set to music. “The title of the show [...] suggests how difficult, but how important it is today to make contact. The words of poets, their message to us all, can help [9].”

The solo performances were followed in 1980 by another special production called Budapest Orfeum (lit. Budapest Orpheum). The cabaret was put together by Angela Császár, Miklós Benedek, and László Szacsvay over 4 months of intensive rehearsals. It covers the period from 1907 to 1945 and is presented through songs, poems, and scenes. The show was a huge success, with over 300 performances. The success of the Budapest Orpheum lay in its ability to speak to and reflect the present through the selected works. “Those three can do everything inherent to this profession: edit, direct, design, recite, sing, dance, and act. In other words, to make theatre [10].” Their play was based on a constant counterpoint. Sometimes it was sombre, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, sometimes hilarious. Alongside Miklós Benedek and László Szacsvay, Angela Császár “plays the constantly changing chanteuse of the orpheum with great insight and transcendence: she is worth fighting for. She performs her piquant ditty with the rhyme ‘Löwinger–lőinger [lit. shooting stimulus]’ in such a way that not only the blue joke but also the woman’s love and economic fate are revealed [11].” In addition to her vocal skills, the artist also showed her versatility as an actress. “From the dolly bird and the maid to the chanteuse, she creates individual characters in a few flashes - she has no time for more. A chatty girl in a uniform shirt prays the Apostles’ Creed. She sings of the glory of the Hungarian flag as a patroness in a pearly party dress with a ribbon bearing the colours of the national flag for the truncated Hungary. She sings the popular Karádi song as a racy nightclub singer with an ingratiating voice. This Karádi parody is perhaps the greatest solo performance of Angela Császár, this charming, mysterious, and great performer [12].”

After the success of the Budapest Orpheum in 1982, in honour of the Kodály centenary, she put together a solo performance, entitled Harang-szavak (lit. Words of the Bell). In 1983, she presented another solo evening in memory of actress Vilma Medgyaszay. In A dal színésznője (lit. The Actress of the Song), which she put together with Olga Siklós, she undertook to “trace Medgyaszay’s long career - with letters, fragments of diaries, excerpts from articles, and above all with songs, couplets, and chansons [13].” She played with a minimal number of props throughout the show. “Four hats, a few stoles and sticks, and the credibility of the artist are enough to follow the transformations of a complex, contradictory personality, the turns of an artistic career, across eras and styles, without doubting for a moment that Medgyaszay is standing before us [14].”

In addition to solo performances, theatre performances were not neglected. In 1985, Tito Strozzi’s Game for Two was staged in Hatvan under the direction of Éva Zsurzs. In this play, she appeared on stage as Attila Nagy’s partner. The play deals with the lives of the actor-actress couple. Angela Császár “presents the partner’s doubt, the resulting distance, and then the release and acceptance with restraint and taste, but also with impressive [...] subtlety [15].” That same year, she was cast as Sarolt in the rock opera István a király (Stephen the King), directed by Imre Kerényi at the National Theatre. In earlier years, she had been given few singing roles, as the National Theatre had no real tradition of musicals. Sarolt, however, accompanied her for a long time. Later, she performed not only in various productions of Stephen the King (Gábor Koltay, István Iglódi) but also in several other plays by Levente Szörényi and János Bródy. In Fehér Anna (lit. White Anna), she played Irma. In A kiátkozott (lit. The Excommunicated), she played Queen Elizabeth. In Attila – Isten kardja (lit. Attila – Sword of God), written by Levente Szörényi, Sándor Lezsák, and Zsolt Pozsgai, she played Réka. She also showed her singing skills in the musical Godspell directed by István Iglódi.

In 1987 and 1991, she moved to America for a year each because her husband was awarded a scholarship to the University of Lexington. While abroad, she continued her theatrical career. She took roles at the Művész Színház (lit. Art Theatre) in Toronto (later known as Új Magyar Színház [lit. New Hungarian Theatre]), including Zilia in Jenő Heltai’s A néma levente (The Silent Knight) and the Actress in Ferenc Molnár’s A testőr (The Bodyguard). In the meantime, she also performed in several American cities (Chicago, St. Louis, South Bend) with her Zoltán Kodály tribute, Words of the Bell [16].

After moving home, she returned to acting at the National Theatre. In 1995, she sang folk song arrangements by Zoltán Kodály and László Lajtha in the Refectory of the Várszínház (Castle Theatre), under the title Tavaszi koncert (lit. Spring Concert). In 1996, Tibor Szilágyi staged Jerome Kilty’s Dear Liar, a play about the relationship between writer G. B. Shaw and actress Mrs Campbell. As partner to Imre Szélyes, Angela Császár “creates a circuit around the actress of fame, drawing her intellect into her feminine charm. She plays the full range of her portrayal skills, for forty years in the role is no short time to experience emotional storms and varied life situations [17].” One of her best-loved roles is in László Németh’s play Villámfénynél (Lightning), in which she played Anna.

The millennium is a turbulent time in the history of the National Theatre. The building on Hevesi Sándor Square was renamed the Hungarian Theatre of Pest, and for two years, there was no National Theatre at all. In the meantime, a new building is constructed, but the former company is no longer in demand. Angela Császár remains a member of the Hungarian Theatre of Pest. In 2001, the premiere of Marit Tusvik’s Mould was held on the Imre Sinkovits Stage of the Hungarian Theatre. In this two-person play, she appeared on stage with Ildiko Hámori. Angela Császár commented, “It’s true that I have gained a lot of experience in the two-person drama Dear Liar [...] Tusvik’s play requires a more concentrated presence. In G. B. Shaw and Mrs Campbell’s correspondence, we mostly evoked memories in a playful tone, but now we are mining from the depths of our souls the experiences and pains that have been gnawing at us for decades, years, and which we have been trying to conceal for a long time [18].” The two actresses brought out the best in each other during the performance, which is why their performances are not analysed separately in the reviews. “Almost better than the whole evening is the interlocking, matched ‘work’ and solidarity with which the two actors swing each other. Their glances, their interlocking, revealing gazes, make the play more than an emotional, anecdotal educational story [19].”

The performance was presented in Norway, at the National Theatre in Oslo, where the author himself was present.

After the Mould, Angela Császár played the role of Counsellor Chekhtaryova in Attila Vidnyánszky’s Gogol adaptation, The Nose. Then, in The Merry Wives of Windsor, she played Mistress Alice Ford and Juno in the István Iglódi-directed Orpheus in the Underworld. Since Juno is a prose role, she was given the opportunity to sing again, as she was also given the chance to sing a song from another Offenbach work, La belle Hélène [20].

In 2011, she also appeared in the premiere of János Háy’s drama Háromszögek (lit. Triangles), playing the wife and mother of the lover. “Angela Császár goes far beyond the familiar mother-in-law jokes; she brings us a real, vivid, overheated character, a figure who takes her whole ruined life to account on those closest to her [21].” In the direction of Pál Göttinger, “as the wife’s practically heartless mother, she manages to avoid appearing like a harpy by playing her with a very select touch [22].”

She remained a member of the Hungarian Theatre until 2012. When she was forced to change under the pressure of undignified circumstances, she left four great roles: Abby in Arsenic and Old Lace, Big Mama in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Housekeeper in My Fair Lady, and Mother in Triangles, mentioned before. After that, she performed in various theatres (for example, at the Új Színház in Géza Bodolay’s production of Nem élhetek muzsikaszó nélkül [lit. I Can’t Live Without Music]) and continued to give her own recitals. In 2014, she once again played a leading role in a world premiere, in the play Come on and Kill Me My Dear, a co-production of Klebelsberg Culture Curia, Marczibányi Square Culture Centre, and Thália Theatre. In the play by Turkish writer Aziz Nesin, she plays Lola alongside Ildikó Hűvösvölgyi (Irene) and Gábor Harsányi (the gas fitter). The story is simple: two neighbours learn of a series of murders when a mysterious plumber arrives at one of their homes. “Angela Császár’s Lola is a precise and well-centred absurdity [...]. Her Lola is a performance of sensitive emotional intelligence, a virtuoso way of surprising us again and again. Lola, according to the text, is a character who alludes to Irene, but Császár builds on this ‘surplus’ through subtle nuances and moderated registers. She is capable of rejuvenating herself by four or five decades in a flash, as soon as she can come over to have a threesome with the gas fitter she hopes is ‘the one’ [23]."

Although she spent most of her career at the National Theatre, she did not become complacent in this familiar environment. She has worked with directors of the most varied styles and habits, and has done her best to tackle every task assigned to her. “I have had many directors, main directors, and companies, many partners – from Szolnok and Kaposvár – so I myself have renewed myself many times [24]."

When she felt lacking, she took control of her destiny and invested her energies in her performances, which were rewarded by the audience. These performances require as much preparation as a theatrical role. Her trademark has become fastidiousness. “It is natural, at least for her, to sing with perfect preparation, to sing three-minute couplets with the care of a three-act stage play [25].”

When she applied to college, she was asked what she wanted to be. She answered: a performer [26]. And that’s what she became. Not just an actor, not just a singer, but an actress of song.

[2016]

[1] Péter Nagy: Az újjászületett fösvény. (lit. The Miser Reborn.) Élet és Irodalom, 10 June 1967

[2] Vera Létay: A félelmetes Tartuffe. (lit. The Fearsome Tartuffe.) Élet és Irodalom, 27 April 1968

[3] László Kürti: Euridiké. (Eurydice.) Film Színház Muzsika, 10 May 1969

[4] Lajos Csáky: Euridiké – Jean Anouilh drámájának bemutatója Kecskeméten. (lit. Eurydice – Premiere of Jean Anouilh’s Drama in Kecskemét.) Petőfi Népe, 30 April 1969

[5] Imre Demeter: A színpad költészete. (lit. The Poetry of the Stage.) Élet és Irodalom, 1 May 1969

[6] István Köves: Csongor és Tünde – Vörösmarty mesejátéka a Nemzeti Színházban. (lit. Csongor and Tünde – Vörösmarty’s fairy tale play at the National Theatre.) Pest Megyei Hírlap, 12 May 1976

[7] András Rajk: A konyha – Arnold Wesker színműve a Nemzeti Színházban. (lit. The Kitchen – Arnold Wesker’s Play at the National Theatre.) Népszava, 7 June 1979

[8] István Morvay: A konyha – Bemutató a Nemzeti Színházban. (lit. The Kitchen – premiere at the National Theatre.) Esti Hírlap, 1 June 1979

[9] (garai): Négyszemközt Császár Angelával. (lit. In private with Angela Császár.) Hétfői Hírek, 25 June 1979

[10] Erzsébet Ézsiás: Szabálytalan portré – Ők hárman. (lit. Irregular Portrait – Those Three.) Színház, 1980/8

[11] Tamás Tarján: Budapest, Nagykávéház; Budapest Orfeum. (lit. Budapest, Nagykávéház; Budapest Orpheum.) Kritika, 1980/6

[12] Ézsiás Erzsébet: loc. cit.

[13] b. g.: A dal színésznője (lit. The Actress of Song.) Népszava, 10 June 1984

[14] Pallagi, Ferenc: A dal színésznője – Egy sosem volt álomvilág. (lit. Actress of Song – A Dream World Never Existed.) Esti Hírlap, 7 July 1984

[15] László Gábor: Közelítések játékkal és valósággal – Színházi nyitány Hatvanban. (lit. Approaches with Play and Reality – Theatre Overture in Hatvan.) Népújság, 15 February 1985

[16] Tamás Barabás: Torontó Ziliája – Interjú Császár Angelával. (lit. Zilia of Toronto – Interview with Angela Császár.) Esti Hírlap, 27 June 1988

[17] Katalin Metz: Világhírességek fölséges bújócskája – A kedves hazug a Várszínházban. (lit. The Sublime Hide-and-seek of World-famous Celebrities – Dear Liar at Várszínház [Castle Theater]). Új Magyarország, 6 February 1996

[18] Katalin Metz: Fanyar komédia két színésznővel. (lit. A Bleak Comedy with Two Actresses.) Magyar Nemzet, 9 November 2001

[19] B. K.: Két norvég nő összehajol. (lit. Two Norwegian Women Lean Together.) Criticai Lapok, 2001/12

[20] Katalin Metz: Az Orfeumtól az Olimposzig. (lit. From the Orpheum to the Olympus.) Magyar Nemzet, 14 January 2005

[21] Miklós Apáti: „Olyan soha nem volt, hogy én” (lit. “There Was Never Such a Thing as Me”). Magyar Hírlap, 14 March 2011

[22] Tamás Tarján: Elmegyek, visszajössz. (lit. I’m Leaving, You’ll Be Back.) Kultúra.hu, 10 March 2011 http://www.kultura.hu/elmegyek-visszajossz

[23] Gábor Csatádi: Mire megfojtódunk. (lit. By the Time We Suffocate.) 7óra7, 30 October 2014 http://7ora7.hu/programok/olj-csak-meg-lelkem/nezopont

[24] Andrea Ferenczi: A dal színésznője. (lit. Actress of Song.) In: Ferenczi Andrea: Arcok és szerepek - Beszélgetések. (lit. Faces and Roles – Conversations) Budapest, Harmat Kiadó, 2001, p. 46

[25] Ferenc Pallagi: A dal színésznője – Egy sosem volt álomvilág. (lit. Actress of Song – A Dream World Never Existed.) Esti Hírlap, 7 July 1984

[26] János Szabó: Euridike – Császár. (lit. Eurydike – Császár.) Petőfi Népe, 8 May 1969

Angela Császár

Selection of works