What follows is an unconventional portrait of the world-famous Hungarian soprano. Indeed, we are not merely listing facts, which can be found in abundance across various platforms. Instead, I aim to authenticate this career overview with personal reflections, using quotations taken from our shared public programmes over the past years and decades. As a music historian and radio-television editor-presenter, I have had the good fortune of following her rocket-like career for nearly thirty years – both in Hungary and abroad. I believe that these mosaic pieces provide a more complete picture of her than a simple enumeration of significant milestones could; therefore, in what follows, we enrich the bare facts with recollections, primarily with the Artist’s own thoughts.
Andrea Rost, Kossuth, Liszt Ferenc and Prima Primissima Award–winning opera singer (soprano), Artist of Merit, and Goodwill Ambassador of Budapest’s bid for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, has also been supporting the Pető Institute with similar dedication since 2017.
She completed her musical studies at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest (today a university), first under Márta Ónody and later as a student of Zsolt Bende.
I first spoke with the Artist as a journalist at the Academy of Music well before she graduated. Her seriousness of thought and determination already revealed themselves clearly then.
“I do not know where I inherited my talent from, I do not know where it comes from, from whom, or how. Looking back, I cannot name anyone, although on my mother’s side both my grandmother and grandfather sang beautifully… I lived in Szolnok with my grandparents during my childhood, practically in a protective bubble, with few bad experiences. They say that from the age of five I would sing the hits I heard on the radio at the time.”
In Budapest, in Csepel, I attended the Jedlik Ányos Secondary School and, in parallel, the Rákóczi Ferenc Music School, where my singing teacher was Júlia Bikfalvy. At the same time as taking my school-leaving exam, I unsuccessfully applied to the operetta–musical programme of the Academy of Theatre and Film Arts (today a university), but the failure only made me more determined, and I studied tirelessly. What followed was success at the talent contest Ki mit tud? (Who Knows What ?), then the above-mentioned Academy of Music, where I was accepted on my second attempt.
I worked hard – that has always been the case since it was decided that this would be my path. At the Academy, for long months, even years, almost nothing seemed to happen. Then – at least that is how I feel – under the guidance of Zsolt Bende my voice came into full bloom, and I learned the most from the opera performances. Ever since I have been on stage, I feel one hundred percent that I was born for this! At last I can give something to people, I can “colour” the few hours they spend at the opera with feelings…
In 1989, Andrea Rost was still a student at the Academy when, as a scholarship holder of the Budapest Opera House, she sang the role of Juliet in Gulyás Dénes’s production of Roméo et Juliette by Gounod. She recalled this “breakthrough” as follows: “Now, as they say, everything was aligned together for success: a brilliant role suited to my nature, excellent partners.”
By chance, in 1989 we were filming an episode of Zenehíd (Music Bridge) for our magazine series Zenebutik (Music Boutique) in Helsinki – the city often called “the daughter of the Baltic Sea” – capturing its artistic and touristic landmarks. We were lucky several times over: splendid sunshine, a Kodak-blue sky, and an unexpected coincidence. Naturally, the Finlandia Hall could not be left out of what we filmed, and it was there that we ran into the only Hungarian participant of the Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition, Andrea Rost, who by then had already reached the semi-finals.
From then on, we followed her closely, rooting for her and secretly hoping for a resounding success. The final favoured Andrea, as she was able to sing one of her true “hits,” one of the demanding arias from Lucia di Lammermoor. Then we filmed the entire awards ceremony as well: …and the first prize goes to Andrea Rost! It is a rare privilege for a TV crew to be able to record the very beginning of a world career. Thus we were able to broadcast firsthand the delighted praises of Birgit Nilsson, Teresa Berganza, Kim Borg, and Yevgeny Nesterenko…
At the same time, when asked “What else would you like – outside the stage?”, she answered: “To spend more time in nature, then to swim, to kayak, to go to prose theatre performances, to watch good films, to meet more valuable people – for there is so much fragmentation, superficiality, appearance around us…” And even then, she formulated something almost like an ars poetica: “When you have to stand alone on stage, perhaps that is when the greatest strength is needed. Faith gives me that strength! There must be something to hold on to – there as well as elsewhere: we must try to evoke the better side of life within ourselves and around us. With struggle, with suffering, with daily new beginnings… On stage I must shape myself, at home above all my children, so that later they too will stand on firm ground.”
The Helsinki success launched her international career. Two years later, in 1991, she became a soloist of the Vienna Staatsoper, where the Viennese audience came to know her in all her major roles of the time – Zerlina, Adina, Susanna, Lucia, Violetta. When in 1997 we produced a television portrait programme about her titled Visszanéztem fél utamról… (I looked back from halfway through…, title of a Hungarian folk song), we also interviewed the legendary director of the Staatsoper, Ioan Holender: “Andrea is a world-class talent. She takes her vocation very seriously. Even at the very beginning she counted as a star. Her wonderful portrayal of Lucia remains unforgettable for us; she sang this role with extraordinary warmth and great dramatic talent. I hope we will hear her in many performances to come!”
As her official website continues: At the 1994 Rigoletto premiere at La Scala in Milan – to which she had been invited by Riccardo Muti (after Mr Holender had drawn his attention to the young singer – J.E.) – she achieved a breakthrough international success, and since then she has been a regular returning guest at La Scala. In 1995, at the season-opening premiere of The Magic Flute at La Scala, she appeared as a celebrated star. Her Susanna in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and her Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata followed in succession.
To this impressive list I add a personal recollection. An exceptional occasion arose in 1995: we were able to film at La Scala at the performance of Rigoletto in which Gilda was sung by Andrea Rost. And – a coincidental overlap – President Árpád Göncz of Hungary was also present, and during the intermission he greeted the artist with a huge bouquet of flowers. We were able to applaud a magnificent production! We approached Riccardo Muti, who at that time was still the music director of La Scala, during the first intermission: “I chose Andrea Rost because she is a wonderful singer and a very good musician. She is highly professional, intelligent, and her voice is beautiful. With her, everything comes together naturally.” This opinion was echoed by the title-role singer, Renato Bruson: “Andrea is a fantastic singer and a very good actress. And a good colleague, both on stage and off. It is a joy to work with her!”
We must also speak here of her conquest of the Metropolitan Opera. The artist first appeared at the Met in 1996, singing Adina in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore. The hugely successful performance was broadcast by Hungarian Radio as well. We spoke afterwards by telephone: “I knew I had to be very careful about this, because it is unbelievably important how a singer makes their debut at the Metropolitan. It was very cold when we arrived, and I was afraid I might catch a cold, so I sentenced myself to a sort of ‘solitary confinement’. There weren’t many rehearsals, only five days, mornings and afternoons. To my delight, it was a tremendous success! And what astonished me beyond measure was that later the management called to ask that when I come to sing Lucia, whom I would like as my partners and conductor. That is a real honour, because even there, this is not customary…”
Again, we quote from the website:
“In America she also appeared several times as a guest at the Lyric Opera, where she performed as Zerlina, Gilda, Violetta and Micaëla. At the Met, besides Gilda, Lucia and Violetta, she sang Susanna in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro in 2006. At the Washington National Opera she performed Antonia, and in the same production she also appeared before the audience in Los Angeles. Earlier, in March 2002 – also in Los Angeles – she wore Pamina’s costume, and in 2005 she could again be heard in the same role in Washington. She is a frequent guest artist at the New National Opera in Tokyo and at numerous other international opera galas. She also shines as an operetta primadonna, for example taking part four times in extended tours in Japan with the Vienna Volksoper company.”
At the Salzburg Festival she also appeared before audiences in several productions, working with the greatest conductors. She sang the role of the Falcon in Richard Strauss’s The Woman Without a Shadow under the baton of Sir Georg Solti, while she performed Drusilla in Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt. In Salzburg Riccardo Muti again conducted when, in Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, she appeared as Xenia.
At the Opéra Bastille in Paris she performed Susanna, Gilda and, in addition to Lucia di Lammermoor, she sang Antonia in Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann. At London’s Royal Opera House she made her debut as Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, then sang Violetta in La traviata with great success. In a concert performance she sang the title role of Donizetti’s Elisabeth, which was also a world premiere. Most recently she sang the title role in the London premiere of Lucia di Lammermoor.
We were filming in London when, in a Sony production, opera arias were being recorded with her in a vast studio converted from a church. The very first day brought an electrifying success: at the end of the session the orchestra – the world-famous Royal Philharmonic Orchestra! – applauded the soloist for a long time. On Hungarian television, the renowned conductor Sir Charles Mackerras also expressed his enthusiasm: “I very much enjoy working together, I have gained excellent impressions. Especially now that we are past the two difficult Lucia arias. You know, Andrea and I will soon record the complete Lucia di Lammermoor for disc, indeed the original version, because I have always been intrigued by how the opera might have sounded in its own time, in Donizetti’s era.”
It is worth recalling the Budapest Superconcert (1996), where Andrea appeared alongside no less than Plácido Domingo, José Carreras and Diana Ross. Domingo specifically requested to sing together with Andrea at this gala evening. “This is very touching, and I am glad that my work with him in Vienna left such an impression on him. At that time he was present at the performance, and at rehearsals, as conductor, so I believe that is why he thought of me – that when he would come to Budapest, he would choose me.”
José Carreras also spoke with high praise: “Andrea Rost is a wonderful young talent. She has already embarked on a very significant international career, and I am certain that she will have a long and beautiful one. She will sing in the most important opera houses, with the most distinguished colleagues and conductors. A beautiful voice, a true talent!”
Special emphasis must be given to the Bánk bán opera film (2002), directed by Csaba Káel, with cinematography by the world-renowned Vilmos Zsigmond, and featuring Hungary’s finest artists as Andrea Rost’s partners – among them Éva Marton, B. Attila Kiss, Dénes Gulyás, Kolos Kováts, Lajos Miller, Sándor Sólyom-Nagy and Attila Réti. Critics unanimously praised the artist’s enchanting portrayal of Melinda. She herself expressed the following opinion about the other world star in the production, Éva Marton, who played Gertrud:
"We are very close and it's been a real pleasure to work with him, to watch the dedication of such a superstar and the restraint with which he holds himself in a 80-pound suit all day. It's exemplary.
J. E.: I remember that in one of our earlier conversations you said you had long wanted to work in film. This dream of yours has now come true.
Andrea Rost: Yes, this was one of my dreams. I still have many dreams… So, I truly love filmmaking, and I would love it if my other dreams came true the way this one has. Because so far I have had very positive and very pleasant impressions. We are working among highly professional people who give everything to what they do. Here beside me is director Csaba Káel, who is also a fantastic person, working with unceasing enthusiasm and an energy anyone would envy.
Just in telegraphic style, here are the highlights of recent years: The audience welcomed her with great enthusiasm in two Puccini operas as well, as Liù in Turandot and, for the first time, in the costume of Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly on Margaret Island. And we can be certain that after, for example, her performance in the title role of Daphne (in Richard Strauss’s opera), or after presenting the Pannon-dalok [Pannon Songs] – whose special interest lies in revealing how closely related Hungarian folk music is to that of neighbouring peoples, and even to klezmer – she will continue to surprise her admirers with many joyful novelties. We may also mention, in connection with the expansion of her repertoire, the deliberate inclusion of other art forms, such as her joint performance with the Frenák Pál Company.
As she noted: “Among other things, I am preparing some exciting new ventures, including the title role in Salome, and then Domingo and I are planning to appear together in Simon Boccanegra.”
Even from this concise overview, it is clear that Andrea Rost remains an exceptionally popular and sought-after artist, both in Hungary and abroad. In the 2016–17 season she appeared fifteen times at the Budapest Opera (Székely fonó [The Spinning Room], La Bohème, Otello), alongside numerous concerts. A portrait of her would also truly be incomplete without mentioning her involvement in many charitable initiatives; among them, her service as a goodwill ambassador for Budapest’s bid for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and for the internationally renowned Pető Institute.
Andrea Rost has often spoken about how strongly she is attached to her capital city and homeland: “I was born in Budapest and I love this city very much. For me it is the most beautiful city in the world. When I return, for example, from London, I always find myself thinking on the plane how wonderful this city looks from above! Or when I cross the Petőfi Bridge, yes, perhaps from the middle of that bridge it is the most beautiful… This is why I try to perform as well as possible and – how shall I put it? – represent Hungary, this small country, throughout the great world.”
[2017]