Music Performances Prague and Budapest

Websites for Prague Philharmony and Prague Symphony Orchestras: http://www.praguephilharmonia.com/en.html http://www.fok.cz/en/
IMHO these are the best Prague orchestras, at least the most people think so.

In Budapest http://www.jegymester.hu/ is the best bet. Budapest is very much about the music. I have some links to other venues here http://budapestflat.shutterfly.com/fivedaysinbudapest bottom right hand corner of the page. I understand a couple of the links are dead, my apologies, I will get them updated when time permits.
My three favorite venues are the Hungarian State Opera House for opera and ballet, The Palace of Art for concerts and the Operett for musical productions. The Operett is probably my all time favorite. I took a quick look. At the Opera you have Madame Butterfly and the Taming of the Shrew. The Palace of Arts which is a modern facility there are a couple of interesting concerts. The other great venue is the Operett http://www.operettszinhaz.hu/operett.php?pid=schedule Operett is the equivalent of a Broadway musical. It's done in a grand old theater second only to the Opera House in the amount of gold leaf and velour. They have some shows with English subtitles so you can follow along. We enjoy them a lot. Unfortunately they only set their program a few months in advance and May isn't up yet. The Operett and the Opera House sell out fast, so watch them closely and as soon as the tickets you want go on sale; buy them. For the price get the best you can afford. If you get Box Seats at the Operett they will take you to a private parlor at intermission and treat you to wine and pastry.

Unlike a lot of cities where the theater or music is famous; it is famous in Budapest among the locals. In a lot of cities you would sit among other tourists; here you will sit among Hungarians. This is their big night out so they dress in the best they can afford. The mix will range from students to elderly and from modest means to the very wealthy. In May the weather will be good so make reservations for after either the Operett or the Opera/Ballet at Callas Café (next to the Opera house and two blocks from the Operett); sit outside on Andrassy ut and watch the people go by.

http://www.ticketsonline.cz/index.php?den_od=10&mesic_od=05&rok_od=2013&den_do=12&mesic_do=05&rok_do=2013&city=Prague&genre=999&search=1 This is the link for Music in Prague May 10-12. I highly recommend seeing Don Giovanni at the Estates Theater. At $55 for best seats, this is the best deal in the opera world. Although this is a "tourist" performance, (not the "world class" performers) the production is outstanding. This is the same theater where Mozart conducted the premier in 1787. The performers are mostly vocal teachers at the Czech National Conservatory. The theater seats only 600 and is very intimate. This shows a performance scheduled for Friday May 10. It's sung it Italian with Czech and English supertitles. You can also google the Estates Theater Prague for the official website. Not to be missed.

I once saw a performance at the Estates Theater in Prague; yes, very nice.

I once saw a performance at the Estates Theater in Prague; yes, very nice.

This is a good website for Prague concerts: http://www.pragueexperience.com/opera_concerts/opera_concerts.asp?EventYear=2013&EventMonth=05&offset=50 Some of the ones listed are definitely geared more at tourists, but it lists just about everything in one place. The Czech Phil will be playing while you're here (at the Rudolfinum), so that would be a great concert. I also recommend Don Gio at the Estates! At most of the venues in town, if you go to the ticket office 30 minutes or an hour ahead you can get really inexpensive rush tickets, although that's not a guarantee.

Last minute tickets may be possible in Prague, but in Budapest you had better buy way in advance.

Don't mean to hijack your thread Jon, but I have a questions in relation to yours. It seems like all the Budapest philharmonics run until either the end of May or June. Are there any symphonies that play into July or August?
Thanks anyone!

Major orchestra and opera seasons end by the time summer starts. Check websites of the major halls for any special concerts, or any special summer series.

Generally speaking the theaters are closed from July 1 through the second week in September. Just to hot I guess but it's the tradition. There will still be concerts in some of the churches I believe.

I was told that I wasn't much help on the music issue so, yes, Budapest is about the music and it does go on all year but you have to be more creative in the summer. Here are some places to look: http://www.classictic.com/en/search/?country=hungary-5&city=budapest-18&from_day=15&from_month=2013-07 http://www.jegymester.hu/ Then there is the Klezmer show at Spinoza's every Friday night and piano music most the rest of the week. http://www.spinozacafe.hu/index_Eng.html Vak Varju also has a piano player most of the time. http://pest.vakvarju.com/ And in THE GUIDE that you can download here has decent list of restaurants with entertainment. http://budapestflat.shutterfly.com/fivedaysinbudapest