"One of the Top Ten Recordings of 2000... A terrific performance at any price." Opera News review of Fidelio conducted on Naxos by Michael Halasz.
Michael Halasz's first engagement as a conductor was at the Munich Gartnerplatztheater where, between 1972 and 1975, he directed all operetta productions.
In 1975, he moved to Frankfurt to work as principal Kapellmeister under Christoph von Dohnanyi and here he conducted the most important works of the operatic repertoire. Many engagements as a guest conductor followed and in 1977 Dohnanyi engaged him at the Staatsoper in Hamburg as principal Kapellmeister.
From 1978 to 1991 Halasz was General Musical Director of the Hagen Opera House and in 1991 he took up the post of Resident Conductor at the Vienna State Opera.
For Naxos, Michael Halasz has recorded works by Tchaikovsky (ballets), Wagner (operatic excerpts), symphonies by Beethoven, Schubert and Mahler, Rossini's overtures and two volumes of Liszt's symphonic poems, the latter described by the Penguin Guide as "one of the most successful collections of Liszt's symphonic poems to have emerged in recent years".
Beyond the standard and purely orchestral repertoire he has recorded Pergolesi's Stabat Mater and Orfeo, Faure's Requiem, Mozart's Mass in C Minor and his Kyrie in D Minor, Richard Strauss' Bourgeois Gentilhomme, Beethoven's Creatures of Prometheus, cello concertos by Dvorak, Elgar, Dohnanyi, and Lalo, Rubinstein's violin concerto (also available on Marco Polo) and Cui's Suite Concertante.
For Marco Polo, Michael Halasz has recorded Rubinstein's ballet music and Don Quixote, Goldmark's Symphony No. 2, Miaskovsky's Symphonies 7 & 10, Schmidt's Symphony No. 1 and a pioneering recording of Schreker's opera Der Ferne Klang.
Building on his growing prowess in the opera house, Halasz has produced two greatly acclaimed complete operas, Fidelio and Die Zauberfloete. For the latter he was lionized by Gramophone which noted: "Naxos have done it again. Once more they effectively challenge the hegemony of more prestigious companies that sell their wares at full price". His most recent full opera recording was of Le nozze di Figaro (Naxos 8.660102-04).
