Krisztián Cser

Krisztián Cser (pronounced [kristiaːn t͡ʃɛr]) (born 9 December 1977) is a Hungarian operatic and concert singer (bass) and physicist, the soloist of the Hungarian State Opera.

Biography Krisztián Cser was born in 1977, in Szeged, Hungary. He grew up in a family of musicians. His grandmother Tímea Cser was a soprano, grandfather Gusztáv Cser was a composer-conductor, father Miklós Cser was a conductor. His mother Andrea Balló is a painter. He has 5 siblings. One of his brothers, Ádám Cser is a musician too, he is a composer-conductor. He grew up in Szeged, Hungary, where he began his musical studies by playing the piano in his early childhood. After leaving high school, he graduated in physics at the University of Szeged in 2002 (Hungary) and began to work as a PhD student at the Institute of Biophysics of the Szeged Biological Research Centre. But his artistic roots proved strong, science was replaced by music in his life. He studied classical singing at the University of Szeged, where his vocal trainer was István Andrejcsik, then he attended the Department of Vocal and Opera Studies at the Liszt Academy, where the famous operatic singer Éva Marton was his professor and studied stage movement and acting with Balázs Kovalik.

Krisztián Cser succeeded in several Hungarian and international singing competitions, either he got into the finals, got a special prize, or even won.

He came out as an oratorio soloist in J. S. Bach's Saint John Passion in 1998. His repertoire includes a wide range of musical styles from early baroque to contemporary music. In opera roles he appeared first in 2008, since when he has been a member of the Hungarian State Opera. His first lead role at the Hungarian State Opera was Pomádé in Ránki's King Pomádé's New Clothes. He has sung under the baton of renowned Hungarian and foreign conductors such as Pierre Cao, Péter Eötvös, Helmuth Rilling, Peter Schreier, Muhai Tang, Gábor Hollerung, Kirill Karabits, Zoltán Kocsis, Ádám Fischer, Iván Fischer, Zoltán Peskó, György Vashegyi, Ken'ichiro Kobayashi, Zsolt Hamar and Tamás Vásáry. During the years, his title-role singing in Béla Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle became emblematic, he sings it in many Hungarian and international performances successfully with the contribution of renowned conductors. In some of the countries during his tour around the world, the audience could listen to and watch this opera for the first time in his performance. Above all, on the CD published in 2018 for the centenary of the Bluebeard's Castle premiere, Krisztián Cser sings Bluebeard.

Besides Bartók's opera, he has played other remarkable roles on opera stages. He frequently sings the bass roles of Mozart's operas as Figaro, Leporello and Sarastro, and authentically plays the protagonists in Verdi and Wagner's operas, such as The Grand Inquisitor and Philip II in Don Carlos or Wotan in The Rhinegold. His other leading roles have included Colline in Puccini's La bohème and Don Basilio in Rossini's The Barber of Seville. His ever-expanding repertoire includes more than 60 operas and nearly 80 roles.

He regularly performs on Hungarian opera and concert stages. He gave recitals also at the Royal Festival Hall in London, at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and many more famous concert hall. He has debut as Wotan in Wagner's The Rhinegold in 2018, and as Don Pizarro in Beethoven's Fidelio at the Opernhaus Chemnitz. In 2019 he sang the role of Bluebeard with the Budapest Festival Orchestra conducted by Iván Fischer, at Carnegie Hall in New York City. He also sang the role of Wotan in the fall of 2019 in Mexico City, where the 150th anniversary of the staging of Wagner's The Rhinegold was celebrated.

Career

1998: first professional appearance as an oratorio soloist | J. S. Bach: St John Passion 2002: graduate as physicist at the University of Szeged 2006: graduate at the College of Music in Szeged 2008: graduate at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest 2008: debut as Don Magnifico | Rossini: La Cenerentola | Italy (Spoleto) 2008: the first lead at the Hungarian State Opera: Pomádé | Ránki: King Pomádé's New Clothes 2010-: guest artist of the Hungarian State Opera 2014: Bluebeard | Béla Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle | China, Ukraine (Kyiv) 2014: debut as Figaro | Mozart : The Marriage of Figaro, Hungary (Budapest) 2014: Kossuth | Iván Fischer: The Red Heifer, 2014: tour in Germany with the Budapest Festival Orchestra 2015: Bluebeard | Béla Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle, Italy (Milan) 2016: Sarastro | Mozart: The Magic Flute | Royal Festival Hall, United Kingdom (London) | Konzerthaus Berlin, Germany, Concertgebouw - Netherlands (Amsterdam) | Concertgebouw, Bruges, Belgium 2017: Bluebeard | Béla Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle | Royal Festival Hall, United Kingdom (London) | Concert Hall, Poland (Katowice) | Concertgebouw, Bruges, Belgium 2018: debut as Wotan | Wagner: The Rhinegold | Germany (Chemnitz) 2019: debut as Alvise Badoero / Ponchielli: La Gioconda, Hungary (Budapest) 2019: tour with the Budapest Festival Orchestra | Bluebeard | Béla Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle | Elbphilharmonie, Germany (Hamburg) | Philharmonie de Paris, Paris-Grande salle Pierre Boulez, France (Paris) | Philharmonie Luxembourg, Luxemburg (Luxembourg) | Carnegie Hall, United States of America (New York City) 2019: debut as Don Pizarro | Beethoven: Fidelio, Germany (Chemnitz) 2019: Wotan | Wagner: The Rhinegold | Sala Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico, (Mexico City) 2020: debut as Philip II | Verdi: Don Carlos | National Theatre of Miskolc, Hungary (Miskolc)

Awards and scholarship

Róbert Kovács Philharmony Scholarship 2003 Albert Szent-Györgyi Scholarship 2005 Annie Fischer Scholarship 2007 Hungarian State Opera Scholarship 2008-2010 "Youth of March" 2010 Wagner Society Scholarship 2011 Mihály Székely Commemorative Medallion 2013 Hungarian Silver Cross of Merit 2014 Gusztáv Oláh Commemorative Medallion 2016 Hungarian Gold Cross of Merit 2020 György Melis Award 2021

Music competitions 4th Simándy József National Singing Competition | 2nd category - Winner (2004) Montserrat Caballe Singing Competition | Finals (2008) Geneva International Music Competition - Special Prize (2009)

Discography

Opera ComposerOperaRoleConductor,Chorus and orchestraRecording yearRelease yearLabelOCLCBéla BartókBluebeard's CastleBluebeardGábor Hollerung HRCD 1733György RánkiKing Pomádé's New ClothesPomádéPéter Oberfrank Opera Chorus Budapest

Opera Chorus Budapest Hungarian National Choir Original version 1844-1862Ulrik CilleiDomonkos Héja Honvéd Male Choir

Budapest Studio Choir Honvéd Male Choir

Budapest Studio Choir BRIL 94869894367998

Oratorio, song ComposerWorkConductor,Chorus and orchestraRecording yearReleaseyearLabelOCLCMiklós Kocsár

György OrbánLaudatio Episcopi Sancti Martini

MagnificatLászló Kovács Eötvös Loránd University Béla Bartók Choir HCD 32629Christian GeistKirchenkonzerteGyörgy Vashegyi HCD 32587268800626Georg LicklSacred music Missa Solemnis in C major

Offertorium Bone Deus, amor meus

Missa Solemnis in D minorGyörgy Vashegyi Purcell Choir HCD 32480244424120

Filmography

Opera film ComposerOperaRoleDirectorConductorChorus and orchestraRecording yearReleaseyearNAVA IDMozartThe Magic FluteSarastroMiklós SzinetárGábor Káli Opera Chorus Budapest Opera Chorus Budapest Opera Chorus Budapest

Hungarian State Opera Children's Chorus Opera Chorus Budapest Studio Chorus Budapest Opera Chorus Budapest Savaria Baroque Orchestra200920101060676 1063492

Concert film ComposerTitleDirectorConductorChorus and orchestraRecording yearReleaseyearNAVA IDJ. S. Bach - MendelssohnSt Matthew PassionViktor HomonnayGyörgy Vashegyi Purcell Choir Kodály Choir Debrecen

Cantemus Mixed Choir Nyíregyháza

Cantemus Children's Choir Nyíregyháza Purcell Choir Mátyás Antal

Zoltán Kocsis Hungarian National Choir Hungarian Philharmonic Orchestra

Cluj-Napoca Hungarian Opera Choir Purcell Choir Purcell Choir J. S. Bach

VivaldiBaroque Evening (J. S. Bach: Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied)Gábor Hollerung György Vashegyi Budapest Academic Choral Society

Purcell Choir Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok

Orfeo Orchestra

Budapest Strings201220121429786J. S. BachSt Matthew PassionViktor HomonnayGyörgy Vashegyi Purcell Choir Kodály Choir Debrecen Orfeo Orchestra Capella Savaria201220121355520

Opera roles

Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle Bluebeard Beethoven: Fidelio Rocco Don Fernando Pizzaro Bizet: Carmen Zuniga Britten: The Rape of Lucretia Collatinus Donizetti: L'elisir d'amore Dulcamara Donizetti: Anna Bolena Enrico (Henry VIII) Lord Rochefort Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor Raimondo Bidebent Eötvös: Love and Other Demons Don Toribio Erkel: Hunyadi László Ulrik Cillei Erkel: Dózsa György Bagos Friar Laurence Fischer: The red heifer Kossuth Gounod: Roméo et Juliette Frère Laurent Gyöngyösi: The Master and Margarita Woland Gyöngyösi: Tragœdia Temporis I. The Lord Händel: Deidamia Licomede Händel: Semele Cadmus Haydn: L'anima del filosofo ossia Orfeo ed Euridice Plutone Hubay: The Violin Maker of Cremona Ferrari, a master violin maker Lendvay: The Respectful Prostitute The negro Monteverdi: L'Orfeo Caronte Plutone Monteverdi: The Coronation of Poppaea Ottone Mozart: The Magic Flute Sarastro Second priest Mozart: Don Giovanni Leporello Il Commendatore Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro Figaro Bartolo Antonio Count Almaviva Mozart: Idomeneo The voice of the Oracle of Neptune Mozart: La clemenza di Tito Publio Ponchielli: La Gioconda Alvise Badoero Puccini: La bohème Colline Puccini: Gianni Schicchi Marco Ser Amantio di Nicolao Puccini: Tosca Cesare Angelotti Purcell: The Fairy-Queen Drunken Poet Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie Pluton Neptune Ravel: L'enfant et les sortilèges Le fauteuil L'arbre Ránki: King Pomádé's New Clothes Pomádé Rossini: The Barber of Seville Don Basilio Rossini: La Cenerentola Don Magnifico Sári: Sonnenfinsternis Miklós Radnóti Selmeczi: The Spiritists Il Duca Schönberg: Moses and Aron Priest Smetana: The Bartered Bride Kecal Strauss: The Silent Woman Farfallo Strauss: Ariadne on Naxos Truffaldino Strauss: Daphne Peneios Strauss: Elektra Orest's tutor Strauss: Piece Day The Holsteiner Strauss: Salome First soldier First Nazarene Stravinsky: Oedipus rex Tiresias Tihanyi: The white rose The man Vajda: Mario and the Magician Cipolla Verdi: Aida The King of Egypt Verdi: Attila Leone Verdi: Don Carlos Philip II Charles V The Grand Inquisitor Verdi: The Sicilian Vespers Count Vaudemont Verdi: Otello Lodovico Verdi: Rigoletto Sparafucile Verdi: Simon Boccanegra Jacopo Fiesco Verdi: Stiffelio Jorg Verdi: The Troubadour Ferrando Verdi: A Masked Ball Samuel Wagner: The Rhinegold Wotan Fasolt Wagner: Rienzi Raimondo Wagner: Siegfried The Wanderer Wagner: The Valkyrie Hunding Wagner: Tannhäuser Reinmar von Zweter Hermann Weber: The Freeshooter Kaspar Weill: Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny Joe, called Alaskawolfjoe