PÉTER HALÁSZ is one of the most versatile Hungarian conductors and he is active in both operatic and symphonic fields. In recent years he has premiered numerous operas, which won great acclaim from Hungarian and international critics alike, with the conductors’ verve, and precise and analytical work coming in for especial praise. At the core of his repertoire are the works of the First Viennese School and the German Romantics, with particular emphasis on Mozart and Wagner. At the same time, he frequently conducts the Italian repertoire as well as contemporary music.
In 2021 Péter Halász was appointed permanent conductor (Kapellmeister) at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. As music director of the Hungarian State Opera from 2013 to 2016, Péter was responsible for many successful premieres. Particularly noteworthy were Verdi’s Falstaff, timed to coincide with the two hundredth anniversary of the composer’s birth, and the first ever domestic performance of Richard Strauss’s Die Frau ohne Schatten. Since debut at the Hungarian State Opera in 2010, he has regularly led repertoire performances, including Verdi’s Rigoletto, Nabucco, and La traviata; Puccini’s Turandot, Madama Butterfly, Tosca and La bohéme; Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Le nozze die Figaro; Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus; Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, and others. Péter also led numerous concert performances. Of these, particularly worthy of mention were Verdi’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. In 2016 he was the conductor for Plácido Domingo’s gala concert at the Hungarian State Opera.
In 2017 he was awarded the Golden Cross of the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic.
Péter Halász was born in Budapest. After studying piano and composition in his native city, he went on to study conducting under Leopold Hager at Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Wien. He took master classes in Lucerne as a student of Bernard Haitink. He has been massively influenced by Ádám Fischer. After completing his studies, Péter coached young singers as a member of the International Opera Studio at Opernhaus Zürich. Following this, he was engaged as a coach and conductor by Staatstheater Mainz where he has collected a big repertoire of operas.
From 2011 to 2013 Péter was the deputy music director of Theater Aachen and Sinfonieorchester Aachen. In 2015 he was invited to join Staatsoper Hamburg, where he made his debut with Puccini’s Manon Lescaut. He also worked as a guest conductor at many other German opera houses and symphony orchestras – Baadisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Staatstheater Kassel, Saarlaendisches Staatstheater, Staatsorchester Nürnberg etc. He has collaborated also with the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra.