Biography

KOCSÁR, BALÁZS Conductor

Balázs Kocsár was born in 1963, in Budapest. He studied composition in the Béla Bartók Conservatory, then conducting at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music where he completed his diploma in 1991. His professor was Ervin Lukács. He participated in masterclasses of Helmuth Rilling, Péter Eötvös and Jorma Panula and he also studied at the Music Academy of Vienna as the student of Prof. Karl Österreicher.

In 1989 he was one of the winners of the 6th International Conducting Competition of the Hungarian Television, and in 1995 he got the first prize of the Franco Ferrara Conducting Competition organized by the Opera di Roma.

1990-1993	Conductor at Szeged National Theatre in Hungary
1991-1994	Assistant-Conductor at National Philharmonic Orchestra in Hungary
Since 1992	He conducts regulary in the Hungarian State Opera
1993-1999	Music Director of the Csokonai Theatre in Debrecen
1999-2002	Conductor at the Opera of Frankfurt-am-Main
2005-2011	Artistic director of the Debrecen Philharmonic Orchestra and the Kodály Choir
2006-2012	Music Director of the Csokonai Theatre in Debrecen
Since 2010	Professor at the Orchestra and Opera Department of the University of Pécs
2011-2013	Music Director of the Budapest Spring Festival
2015-	Head of the Orchestra and Opera Department of the University of Pécs
2016-	General Music Director of the Hungarian State Opera House

In 2005 he conducted in Oper Leipzig the Die Zauberflöte of Mozart and since then he has been invited to conduct there three premiers: The turn of the Screw of Britten, Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore and one ballet.

In the season of 2006-2007 he conducted at the Mozarfest of the Hamburg Staatsoper La Clemenza di Tito, the original French version of Verdi's Don Carlos in the Theatre of Basel, in Mannheim La Traviata, in Debrecen Puccini's Tosca and the La forza del Destino of Verdi.

In the season of 2007-2008 at the Opera of Köln he conducted the Cavalleria Rusticana and the Pagliacci with the participation of José Cura. In Hamburg he conducted the Die Zauberflöte, in Debrecen Puccini's Manon Lescaut and Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. In 2008 he conducted Don Carlo in Liége.

In 2008-2009 he conducted in Hamburg Mozart's Cosí fan tutte and Puccini's Madama Butterfly, in Debrecen Erkel's Bánk Bán, the Turandot of Puccini and Dvorák's Rusalka.

In the season of 2009-2010 he conducted Verdi's Macbeth in Sassari, the Rigoletto in Hamburg. In Debrecen the first opera-premier of this season was the new opera of David Alagna, Le dernier jour d'un condamné. Beside this production he conducted Verdi's Aida, Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex and Boris Godunov of Mussorgsky.

In the season of 2010-2011 he conducted Norma by Bellini, Don Pasquale by Donizetti with Juan Pons and Rigoletto by Verdi in Budapest, La Fanciulla del West by Puccini in Lecce and Hunyadi László by Erkel, L'Ange de Feu by Prokofiev, Carmen by Bizet and Háry János by Kodály in Debrecen.

Summer 2011 he particepated at the Savonlinna Operafestival with the Hungarian State Opera House conducting Bartók's Bluebard's Castle and Verdi's Don Carlo.

In 2011-2012 he conducted Simon Boccanegra by Verdi, Turandot by Puccini, Arabella by R.Strauss and La Traviata by Verdi in Budapest, Die Tote Stadt by Korngold in Debrecen and Giulio Cesare by Haendel in Pécs.

In 2012-2013 he conducted Die Entführung aus dem Serail by Mozart in Montpellier, Jenufa by Janacek in Avignon, Arabella, La Bohéme and a contemporary new operas first performance, La Violetta by Árpád Solti in Budapest and Hansel und Gretel by Humperdinck in Pécs.

In 2013-2014 he conducted Orfeo ed Euridice by Gluck with Chiara Muti as director in Montpelier, Háry János, Norma, L’elisir d’amore by Donizetti, Tosca with José Cura, La Calisto by Cavalli, Der Schauspieldirektor by Mozart and János Vajdas Mario in Budapest,
Le Derniere Jour d’un condamné by David Alagna with Roberto Alagna in Avignon, making also a DVD for the Deutsche Grammophon issued in 2013 oktober, Die tote Stadt in Miskolc and Der Freischütz by Weber in Pécs.

In 2014-2015 he conducted Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher by Honegger, Dózsa György by Erkel, Hunyadi László by Erkel in Budapest, La Bohéme in Avignon and Orphée aux Enfers by Offenbach in Pécs.

Beside his huge opera repertoire (almost 80 different operas), since 1988 he also conducted concerts worldwide from baroque to contemporary music. Among others the Orchestra of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Orchestra Verdi di Milano, I Pomeriggi Musicali, Orchestra Sinfonica Sicilia di Palermo, Arena di Verona, La Fenice di Venezia, Teatro Verdi di Trieste, Opera di Roma, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Museumsorchester Frankfurt, Rheinland-Pfalz Staatsorcheser, DeFilharmonie Antwerpen, Flemmish Radio Orchestra, Nord Netherlands Orchestra, Zagreb Radio Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Hungarian Radio Symphonic Orchestra, Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra.

Since 2015 Head of the Orchestra and Opera Department of the University of Pécs

Since 2016 General Music Director of the Hungarian State Opera House

In 2015 June made a successful tour in Japan with the Hungarian State Opera

2016-03-29