Photo credit: Max Teleki
“I would like to take this opportunity in the name of the Hungarian Embassy and more so as a representative of the Hungarian Government to thank you the coalition for everything that you have done to make sure that the Hungarian community sticks together,” said György Szapáry, The Ambassador of Hungary.
Ambassador György Szapáry (R)
The occasion was the Hungarian American Coalition’s tenth annual Gala Dinner at the House of Sweden celebrating the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Iron Curtain and the proclamation of Hungary as a free, democratic republic that honored László Tőkés and Congressman Tom Lantos, preceded by an Andrea Rost concert at the Warner Theatre.
Ambassador Szapáry went on to read a message from the Deputy Speaker of the Hungarian Parliament that addressed the Hungarian-American Coalition: “These, the good ambassadors of Hungary in the United States, maintain close connections with Hungary, preserve and protect our culture, traditions, and make our country and freedom-loving nation known to as many people as possible.”
Ambassador György Szapáry
Bishop Tőkés principled resistance to the terror tactics of Communist agents, sparked the Romanian Revolution in 1989 and played a pivotal role in toppling the Ceausescu dictatorship. László Tőkés is a Romanian-born Hungarian politician, currently serving as a Member of the European Parliament (since 2007) and Vice President of the European Parliament (2010-2012).
Prior to the Gala Dinner, world famous soprano Andrea Rost performed a full solo concert at the Warner Theatre the program of which included arias from well-known operas (including Puccini’s Madame Butterfly and Mozart’s The Magic Flute) as well as Hungarian folk songs. She was accompanied by Hungarian-Canadian pianist Gergely Szokolay, who also presented solo works by Bartók, Debussy, Rachmaninoff and R. Strauss.
Andrea Rost has performed in leading roles with the Vienna State Opera, La Scala, the Royal Opera House, Opéra National de Paris, the Metropolitan Opera, the Salzburg Festival and now at Warner Theatre.
Aniko Gaal Schott with Andrea Rost
Hollywood on the Potomac sat down with Ms. Rost to discuss her career. Much to our dismay, the acoustics of a completely glass enclosed venue made it difficult to eliminate background sounds. But rather than transcribe and lose her gestures and laughter, here we go:
The Hungarian American Coalition also honored the Hungarian Communion of Friends, a Hungarian-American organization which promotes and supports non-denominational religious life in the Hungarian tradition, and charitable work by and among people of Hungarian extraction.
