Hungarian State Opera Names New Principal Conductor

27-year-old Martin Rajna will step into the role

As the new Principal Conductor at the Hungarian State Opera, Hungarian conductor Martin Rajna will start at the opening of the 2023/24 season, during which he will conduct works such as Verdi’s Attila and Rossini’s L’ italiana in Algeri — alongside more familiar fare such as Don Giovanni and Il barbiere di Siviglia.

Rajna made his conducting debut at the National Theatre of Győr in 2020, conducting Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail. He is presently the Chief Conductor of the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, having been appointed to the position in 2021.

Rajna is currently completing his studies at the University of Music "Franz Liszt" in Weimar, where he is a student of Nicolás Pasquet and Ekhart Wycik. His undergraduate degree was completed at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, where his teachers were Ádám Medveczky and András Ligeti.

In 2021, he was selected for the mentoring program at the Peter Eötvös Contemporary Music Foundation, where he worked with figures such as Péter Eötvös, György Kurtág, Fabián Panisello, and Magnus Lindberg.