Szeged Open-Air Festival opens with Strauss’s “The Gypsy Baron”

NewsEvents

Jun 28

The Szeged Open-Air Festival launched its 2025 season last night with a performance of Johann Strauss Jr.’s operetta The Gypsy Baron, staged under the summer sky in the city’s historic Dóm Square.

The open-air production, presented by the Hungarian State Opera, drew thousands of spectators to the vast outdoor venue known for blending world-class performance with Szeged’s monumental cathedral backdrop. Widely regarded as Hungary’s largest and most prestigious open-air theatrical event, the festival has been a mainstay of the country’s cultural calendar for decades, famous for its grand-scale stagings of opera, musicals, dance, and drama.

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**SZEGED OPEN-AIR FESTIVAL GEARS UP WITH STAGE AND SEATING NEARING COMPLETION**

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The Gypsy Baron was directed by 93-year-old Miklós Szinetár, a towering figure of Hungarian theater who has a long association with the Szeged Open-Air Festival. Over his career, he has staged numerous productions here, helping define the festival’s reputation for ambitious, visually striking performances designed for the vast outdoor setting.

First held in 1931, the Szeged Open-Air Festival is renowned for transforming the city’s Dóm Square into a massive open-air theater seating up to 4,000 people. Its historic tradition survived wartime interruptions and resumed in 1959, since becoming a showcase for Hungarian and international artists alike.

This year’s opener, The Gypsy Baron, is a romantic, comic operetta set in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, featuring Strauss’s lively score and new directorial touches tailored for the grand stage. During the opening night, Szinetár was also honored with the Szeged Commemorative Medal, recognizing his decades of contributions to the festival and Hungarian theater. The festival will continue through the summer with a program ranging from classic opera to musical theater, continuing Szeged’s legacy as one of Hungary’s foremost cultural destinations.