Margaret IslandWater Towerand Open-Air Theatre

BUDAPEST is most famous for its unmatched panorama, however the Hungarian capital has been referred to as a city

of surprises in the last couple of years. The reason – apart from its historical building- and natural heritage – being that Budapest offers exciting, wide ranging programs for its guests throughout the whole year.

The Budapest Summer Festival has a long tradition as the complete arts festival offering over 100 high culture programs during the summer months ensuring continuity in the cultural life of Budapest. The Festival has two permanent venues: the Margaret Island and the Városmajor Open-Air Theatres which are considered outstanding theatre locations not only nationwide but also by European standards, thanks to the renovations made possible by combined national and municipal government support.

The Margaret Island Open-Air Theatre is the only one permanent outdoor stage in the country, which is built close to the feet of the historical Water-tower.

In the spirit of quality entertainment the compiled program offers performances for all family members in a variety of genres: spectacular grand operas, concert shows, ballet and musical productions on Margaret Island; prosaic and musical theatre, jazz and classical music concerts in Városmajor. Each season, about a hundred thousand visitors view the programs, a general 80% usage record at both facilities, made up of returning audiences with domestic and foreign guests alike.

To invite and show for the audience the best national and international artists and companies is the goal and priority of the Budapest Summer Festival. In the last ten years we have hosted international superstars like: Buena Vista Social Club, Chico & The Gypsies, Shakespeare’s Globe, Moscow Classical Balett, Carmen Souza, Gianni Morandi, Loreena McKennit, Gocco, Moiseyev Ballet, Los Vivancos, Nic Raine & Carlo Montanaro conductors, Catherine Gallagher, Edvin Marton, Giora Feidman, Rhoda Scott, Boban Markovic, Felix Lajko, Alexander Rybak, Al Bano, Anouska Shankar, Pet Metheny Group, Jacques Loussier, Rinat Shaham, Thiago Arancam, Andrea Care, Béatrice Uria-Monzon, Giancarlo Monsalve opera singers and much much more.

This year is the Festival in negotiation with: Stacey Kent, Stanley Jordan, Giuseppe Filianoti, James Valenti, Sébastien Guéze, Martin Mühle, Marc Heller, Andrea Rost, The Monte Carlo Ballet, etc.

Beside the Margaret Island Open-Air Stage the Városmajor Open-Air Stage is the other significant scene of the Budapest Summer Festival. It is one of the few theaters in Buda and the only open-air theater built in this part of the city. It was originally an open-air cinema before being turned into an outdoor stage. The 800 seated and pleasant atmosphered theater is 5 minutes walk from the Széll Kálmán square in the middle of Buda’s most popular and lovely park called Városmajor. The Stage only performs in Summer - in June, July and August - and offers more than 50 programs in varied repertoire for all generations. The audiance can enjoy here mainly comedies, dramas, musicals, concerts and performances for children in a green, open-air space. Beside the mostly Hungarian-language performances, dance shows are given in the program. The Városmajor Open-air Stage is particularly strong in concerts, offering jazz, world music and classical music in the repertoire.

The season lasts every Summer from the middle of June to 31 August.

The organizer Open-Air Theatre Non-profit Ltd. offers attractions every season: its own presentations, brand new, specially designed for the specific site productions with a lead up promotional campaign throughout the city. Our productions and co-productions are performed at indoor theatres (during the theatre season from September to May, which are also operated and maintained by institutions with national and municipal government support) and added to our partners’ permanent repertoires. Our theatre guarantees and provides a secure background (financial, promotional and professional) for the creation of these productions and their continued performances.

Our website: www.szabadter.hu / eng.szabadter.hu