Bánk Bán – Beregszász Arena at Hungarian State Oper

Visiting the Ukrainian border region during the First Carpathian Homeland Tour, we could really only spend time in Ungvár (Uzhorod) – and we have wonderful memories of the two performances there with the audiences totalling 3000 in number – and not much in Beregszász (Berehove). However, we did visit this beautiful small town and found there an open-air arena that could house an audience of 3000 in a nice, hilly location. Its conditions are not too heartening, but with support from Hungary and in line with the intentions of the town's ethnic Hungarian leadership, we saw that it could be renovated. After replacing some wooden boards, painting, fixing the lighting and cutting the grass, this site will be ready for use as a regular performance venue soon. The financial backing is being provided by its sister city, Budapest's District 9 (Ferencváros), and the Ministry of Human Capacities. The Opera and the National Theatre are both undertaking to visit Beregszász once a year to provide some cultural gifts from the homeland to those who have been maintaining themselves and their Hungarian identity under harsher and poorer conditions than anywhere else for a long time.