Hungarian National Ballet

Hungarian National Ballet
General information
Name	Hungarian National Ballet
Local name	Magyar Nemzeti Balett
Year founded	1884
Principal venue	Hungarian State Opera House
Website	www.opera.hu/company-ballet
Senior staff
Director	István Mozsár
Artistic staff
Artistic Director	Tamás Solymosi
Other
Formation	Principals Soloists Semi-Soloists Corps de Ballet

The Hungarian National Ballet (Hungarian: Magyar Nemzeti Balett) is a classical ballet dance company based in Budapest, Hungary. The ballet company is attached to the Hungarian State Opera House, which is also home to the Hungarian National Opera company and the Hungarian National Philharmonic orchestra. The ballet company was established in 1884.

Ballet performances began in Hungary during the 18th century, when they were held in private theatres at aristocratic castles. Professional companies were established that performed throughout Hungary and also toured abroad. The Budapest National Theatre increasingly serving a role as a home for the dancers. The first ballet master of the National Theatre and Royal Opera was the Viennese Frigyes Campilli, who worked in Budapest for 40 years.

In 1884, the Hungarian Royal Opera House was opened (now known as the Hungarian State Opera House). The Hungarian National Ballet was part of the new theatre community. From the beginning, the Hungarian National Ballet had a reputation as one of the leading companies in Europe, although in the 19th century, the company had a very different structure:

The corps de ballet included 60 artists: 30 female dancers along with 30 regularly performing students. The company was led by two Italian and four Hungarian soloists. The opening Opera House had only female artists except for one single male dancer coming from Milan.

Italian dance technique dominated the company in its early decades, an aspect of the company's history that is shared with European companies such as the Czech National Theatre Ballet (Prague) during the same period. Staging was heavily influenced by Vienna. Consciousness of Hungarian national culture was soon brought to the stage, however, driven in large part by the work of Gyula Harangozó (1908-1974). Scene in a Country Tavern, performed in 1936, is considered a milestone of Hungarian ballet. Other characteristic works include Coppelia, Tricky Students, Sheherezade, and Promenade Music. Hungarian folk dancing was fused with classical ballet into a new creation.

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