Aspendos festival becomes most-attended festival this year

ANTALYA

It has been reported that the 28th International Aspendos Opera and Ballet Festival, organized by the General Directorate of State Opera and Ballet in the southern province of Antalya, has welcomed the highest number of people this year.

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency, Abdullah Oğuz Sırmalı, general coordinator of the State Opera and Ballet, said that in the festival, which took place at the Aspendos Ancient Theater from Sept. 4 to 23, “Murat IV” and “Madame Butterfly” operas, “Pandemic” ballet and “3 Sopranos, 3 Tenors” gala concert were performed on the stage.

Stating that they met the audience after a long break due to the pandemic, Sırmalı said: “Our audience missed us, art, opera and ballet. We missed them, too. At a time when we stayed away from art due to the pandemic, it is very nice to be so close to the audience.”

Stating that the festival broke records in terms of audience and revenue, Sırmalı said: “The Aspendos Opera and Ballet Festival was the most-watched festival among the other opera and ballet festivals we organized in seven different cities this year, with over 6,000 viewers.”

Reminding that they performed big productions before the pandemic process, Sırmalı said that thanks to the measures taken this year, they took the stage with plays that had a small staff but had a big impact.

“We staged the ballet ‘Pandemic,’ which made its world premiere this year, in the magical setting of Aspendos. With this ballet, we tried to explain the longing we feel for our loved ones. The ‘Murat IV’ opera reached a much larger audience despite being performed with a quarter cast of major Italian productions,” he said.