J
József Katona
writer
- Born:
- 1791-11-11, Kecskemét, Hungary
- Died:
- 1830-04-16, Kecskemét, Hungary
- Professions:
- writer
Biography
Kecskemét greeted the winter of 1791 with the cry of a restless child: József Katona. By candle and ink he conjured the tragedy that would outlive every heartbeat of his short life—*Bánk bán*, a drama fierce enough to echo across three centuries of stage and screen: first in 1915’s silent flicker, again in 1957’s live opera broadcast from the Hungarian State Opera, and once more in the 2002 widescreen retelling. He never left his birthplace; on 16 April 1830 he closed his eyes in the same town that had watched him open them thirty-eight years earlier, leaving behind a single play that still speaks for him.
