Best of Budapest & Hungary

Singing groups from five countries, several folk-dance groups and orchestras, as well as opera singers Erika Miklósa and István Horváth will be the star guests at the 27th European Wine Song Festival in Pécs and Villány between September 22 and 24.

    At the event complemented with the 12th Villány Premium Wine Tasting contest, the host Pécs Male Choir will be joined by Boghese e Ammentos from Sardinia, the Mercury-Order Choir from Sweden, the Danubius Octet Singers from Slovakia, the Vocal group DOMEN from Slovenia, the Pécs Symphonietta, Vivat Bacchus, the Zengő Ensemble, the Misina Folk Dance Ensemble, the Somogy Orchestra and the Pécs Ércbányász Concert Wind Orchestra.

    On Friday, the bands will march along the Villány cellar row, followed by concerts in the cellars of the popular wine region famous for its red wines.

    On Saturday, the Kodály Center in Pécs will host a gala concert featuring the participating bands and two star performers, Erika Miklósa and István Horváth. In the first half of the evening, the participants of the festival will entertain the audience with wine songs and the winners of the 1st Wine Bard Singing Competition will sing, while the second half of the concert will feature an independent performance by the Pécs Symphonietta, followed by a joint performance by the Béla Bartók Male Choir, the combined male choirs and the orchestra.

   Prior to the gala concert, the 12th Villány Premium Wine Tasting will be held in the Kodály Center's lobby, with the products of fourteen Villány wineries on display.

  In the morning of the final day of the festival, the participants will give concerts in the villages of the Villány-Siklós Wine Route, and in the afternoon, the Festival of Wine and Song will close with a vintage parade, wine tasting and the Peoples' Wine and Dances at Széchenyi Square in Pécs.