Seite 169 [169]
IMRE KERÉNYI: STEPHEN THE KING, 1985
the members of his circle received boisterous and emotionally overwhelming
songs. Ihirdly, the cast was rather uneven, as, for example, the rock star Gyula
Vikidál (Koppány) with his extremely powerful voice stood half naked against
the unknown and mediocre actor László Pelsőczy (Stephen), who was only lip¬
synching, while Miklós Varga was singing instead of him.??" The production
of the National Iheatre redressed the balance between István and Koppány,
emphasizing their being a "binary star", despite all their differences in
political attitude, worldview, thinking and way of life. Furthermore, it focused
on Stephens serious doubts and portrayed the founder of the Hungarian state
as a “charismatic dramatic hero”.?” He is a hero in whom “the moral being
confronts the man of realpolitik",? who is aware of the serious loss caused
by his decision to preserve the country, i.e. aware of the showdown with his
blood relative and the internal war that has claimed countless casualties.**!
This was done in order to make an allegory out of the situation displayed by
the rock opera, not so much to connect it with the present, but rather to show
it as the fate of national history.°??
STAGING
As a result of its distinguished interpretation of the rock opera, the mise-en¬
scène provided “the drama of a decision with extremely serious human and
public consequences”,®**? instead of some unreflected patriotic fervor based
82
S
The production on King Hill did not only seem to favor Koppäny, but, although everyone
knew that “Stephen is right historically, scientifically and in principle, [...] the tough and
strong pagans with their beautiful voice [...] sang down the representatives of the bumpy
road of historical progress from the hill" András Székely: A Tizenkét dühös ember és az
István, a király a Nemzetiben, Új Tükör, Vol. 22, No. 41, 13'* October, 1985, 28.
According to the director, if we survey Hungarian history, we see such “binary stars” or pairs
of stars a lot. In spite of their radically different concepts, “they are of the same origin. They
have acommon root. [...] That’s the story we were trying to tell.” Petöfi Radio, 10:45 a.m., 23"
September, 1985.
Koltai: Reälpolitika, 921.
#30 Ibid.
831 Cf, “And the production at the National Theatre now, perhaps, makes Stephen a dramatic
figure, or let’s say tragic, for he is well aware of the decision that will cause damage in any
case somewhere in his personality and throughout the life of the country." Petőfi Radio,
10:45 a.m., 23" September, 1985.
#22 Cf. “The great men of our country were always forced to make decisions that were bad in
both directions, but they still had to choose the lesser of two evils.” Ibid. - “We see the
formula of our history here: the tragic choice between two paths, between two options. [...]
Kerényi makes us feel this serious drama excellently from the very beginning by the way he
stages the song "Mondd, kit választanál?" [Tell me, who would you choose?]. And this idea,
the inescapable tragedy of the decision, is brought back in the last scene, with Stephen, left
alone, a winner and a loser at the same time.” Takacs: A döntés drámája, 6.
#3 Ibid.
82:
®
82
o
e
« 167 +