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The Hungarian baritone, István Szécsi, was born into a musical family. His father was the conductor of the Szeged University Choir for thirty years. All three of his children also chose a career as a singer and teacher. He graduated from the Szeged Branch of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music. He continued his university studies at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest as a student of Boldizsár Keönch, where he graduated as an opera and oratorio singer, art teacher and choir director. Andrea Rost was one of his colleagues at the academy, among others.
During his time as a student at the Academy of Music, István Szécsi performed several times at the Collegium Hungaricum events in Vienna. From 1986 to 1988, he sang at the International Studio of the Zürich Opera. He was the first Hungarian artist to win a Swiss state scholarship. His stay in Zürich fell during the Nikolaus Harnoncourt's W.A. Mozart cycle, where I also sang with Ileana Cotrubas, Thomas Hampson and Francisco Araiza. He also performed at the Hungarian Ball in Zürich, where he sang the bordalo from Bánk bán and the famous aria beginning with "Hazám, hazám, te mindenem".
In 1988-1989, István Szécsi's journey took him to Kecskemét, where he was a professor of solo singing at the Kodály Institute. In 1989, he became a member of the Linz Provincial Theatre, where he sang solo roles in addition to the chorus. From 1990, he taught solo singing at the Bruckner Conservatory in Linz. Some of his students are now singing on major opera stages around the world. During these years, he has appeared as a guest soloist at the Hungarian State Opera several times, where he sang Papageno from W.A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Figaro from Il barbiere di Siviglia, Malatesta from Don Pasquale and Beckmesser from R. Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.
István Szécsi has been a member of the Graz Opera Chorus since the autumn of 1994, and has since appeared several times at the Forum Hungaricum concerts. At the Graz Opera, he sang not only as a chorus member in every production, but also as a soloist, including The Masquerade, The Butterfly Girl, My Fair Lady, Fanny Girl and The Merry Widow. He also actively participate in concert life, regularly singing in the churches of Graz under the direction of conductors Hochstrasser, Döller and Bolterauer.
In 2012, István Szécsi was invited to the Paris Bastille Opera, where he sang the role of Welko in Richard Strauss's opera Arabella for 12 performances. Philippe Jordan conducted, and his partners were Renée Fleming and Kurt Rydl. He also sang this role in Graz. In 2015, he had a solo recital entitled "Klänge aus Ungarn" in the Mirror Hall of the Graz Opera House, where he sang works by Franz Liszt, Erkel, Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály. His permanent piano accompanist in my recitals is Georgi Mladenov, a Bulgarian pianist, choirmaster and also a choir assistant in the opera.
István Szécsi regularly sings at charity concerts for the Andritz Church in Szeged. He has already organized three cultural and culinary trips to Hungary for the Andritz church choir to Eger, Soltvadkert and Kiskőrös. In Szeged he sang at a charity concert for the new Mother Teresa Church.
István Szécsi has several CD recordings, such as "Am Brunnen vor dem Tore", on which he sings twenty-two Schubert songs, or "Lieder von Franz Liszt", on which you can hear the three Petrarca Sonnets and, among others, Franz Liszt's songs in Hungarian. He currently lives in Graz, Austria. |
