Watch Richard Rittelmann live from Budapest

 

Richard Alexandre Rittelmann

Richard Alexandre Rittelmann, who will appear in this year's Viva, Italia! Barihunks Charity Calendar, is reprising his stunning performance in Harrison Birdwhistle's Punch & Judy at the Armel Opera Festival in Budapest.

This year's festival is alternating at three locations, with performances of Sándor Márai's Embers, Mozart's Mitridate, a comtemporary production of Beaumarchais' Figaro, and the one-act play Parody, the winner play of the first composer-competition of Armel Festival.

With Punch & Judy, Harrison Birtwistle and his librettist Stephen Pruslin created a stylized tragedy full of grotesque moments, the music of which is just as capable of portraying a monstrous being as it is of portraying love. Their work opens up a positively other-worldly realm, full of fairground illusions and insane twists.

Richard Alexandre Rittelmann

To this day, the opera has retained its polarizing effect. Just a few minutes into the action, Punch brutally murders his own child and Judy—and as the plot progresses, he ends up killing almost everyone else he encounters. Only Pretty Polly, whom he practically worships, is allowed by him to live. But eventually, Punch is overcome by horrible nightmares and the music begins to change in character.

The Festival runs until October 17th, which will culminate with an Awards Ceremony where the best production, best performer and the audience-awarded production will be announced. The winning opera will once again be staged at the opera festival in Avignon on June 3, 2015.

If you can't attend the Festival, you're in luck, as Punch & Judy will be streamed on the German-French cultural channel, Arte Concert on October 14 at 10 AM PST/1 PM EST/7 PM in Budapest. Click HERE to watch the broadcast. The site even has a convenient countdown clock, so you won't miss the show.