Hungarian State Opera chief dismissed following government audit

Szilveszter Ókovács disputes the findings behind his dismissal and says he will challenge the decision in court. Performances will continue as scheduled.

Hungary’s government has dismissed Szilveszter Ókovács, general director of the Hungarian State Opera, following an audit that the culture ministry says identified irregularities in payments to the institution’s management.

The decision, taken by Tarr Zoltán, minister responsible for social relations and culture, took effect on November 2. Balázs Ivacs will assume the general director’s duties temporarily while the ministry prepares a competition to appoint a permanent successor.

Payments questioned by the ministry

According to the ministry’s statement, Ókovács regularly received additional payments of several hundred thousand forints a month for specific duties without the ministerial approval required under the applicable rules. These duties included communications work and responsibilities associated with the chief music director’s position.

The ministry said the interim leadership would investigate the findings further, address the shortcomings and determine whether there were grounds for legal action over suspected criminal offences. It also stated that the leadership change would not affect the Opera’s performances.

Ókovács challenges the decision

Speaking on Hungarian television channel ATV after his dismissal, Ókovács rejected the government’s account and said he would take the matter to court.

He argued that payments described as unauthorised bonuses were compensation for additional duties. According to his explanation, responsibilities associated with the chief music director’s post had been shared among seven colleagues after the position was left unfilled in 2023.

Ókovács also disputed figures publicised by culture state secretary Ervin Nagy, saying his gross monthly salary was 4.4 million forints, rather than the 4.8 million cited by the official. He defended separate payments for promotional social media work, saying he had undertaken those additional tasks for eight months.