According to ancient Hungarian custom, however, the oldest male member of the family - in this case, a relative named Koppány - would have been the successor.
In order to deter the pagans from further uprising, his body was quartered and the pieces exposed upon the walls of the main castles of the country.
The ruling prince of Hungary, Géza, has invited Christian missionaries into the country (Veni lumen cordium/Töltsd el szívünk, fényesség).
In order to strengthen ties with the West, his son István is marrying the Bavarian princess Gizella.
Súr, Solt and Bese, a group of opportunist noblemen, talk about human frailty - every man chooses the side that seems the most promising.
István promises at his grave to be a good prince to his people, yet he is defied by Koppány, who claims to be the rightful successor of Géza's.
The followers of both gather behind them and hail them (Nincs más út csak az Isten útja).
Réka, Gizella, the priests and the people are saddened and pray for peace (Adj békét Uram/Da pacem, Domine).
A group of singers hail István, yet they also sing about past glory (Üdvöz légyen Géza fia).
They extol his qualities as a husband and lover and express their desire for him (Te vagy a legszebb álmunk).
He is moved by her sorrow and beauty, but Sarolt brutally chases her away: Koppány would be quartered, as a deterrent for potential rebels (Halld meg uram, kérésem/Felnégyelni!).
The choice of a theme that was both strongly connected with national history and with the Christian religion seemed rather daring in the Hungary of the early 1980s.
Furthermore, the topic of a fight between two antagonists for the country harkened back to the Hungarian revolution of 1956 which had been crushed by Communist party chief János Kádár, who was still in power at the time István, a király was written.
Though István's antagonist Koppány is presented as a noble, honest soul, he could also be seen as being somewhat "behind the times", as a person who does not understand what the country needs most.
Especially among the minority Hungarians in the neighboring countries, István, a király was understood as an expression of nationhood and patriotism, explicitly spelled out in the last words of its last song: "Szép Magyarország, édes hazánk."
Composer Levente Szörényi, who had already worked together with János Bródy (lyrics) for more than two decades when they wrote István, a király (most famously in the bands Illés and Fonográf), chose to characterize every major character and group in the play by its own style of music.
István's hopes and fears are expressed in melodious pop songs, while Koppány's power and determination is shown through rock pieces.
The transition from the old to the new is often compellingly expressed musically, for example in the funeral scene where a traditional Hungarian folk melody is blended into and then vanishes behind a Gregorian "Kyrie eleison".
János Bródy has been acknowledged as one of the most talented lyrics writers of Hungary and István, a király was certainly written in his prime.
The rock opera can both be read as traditional "priest criticism", or as a piece that is deeply respectful of faith.