Novel on Turkish soprano in Italian

ROME - Anatolia News Agency

Zeynep Oral. DHA photo

“Tutkunun Romanı: Leyla Gencer” (The Novel of Passion: Leyla Gencer), a book on “La Diva Turca,” the legendary Turkish singer Leyla Gencer, has been translated into Italian.

Written by Turkish journalist Zeynep Oral in the early 1990s, the book was recently translated by Alessandra Chiappano.

“The significance of my book is that Gencer is not only an example for music and opera authority, but also I wanted to introduce her to everyone as a human,” Oral said. “Gencer is very important for the music and opera world, but she has more meaning for me. I wrote this book on Gencer in 1994. The book was translated into Italian after her death [in 2008].”

Turkey’s Ambassador to Rome Hakkı Akil and world-renowned Turkish director and Italian resident Ferzan Özpetek attended Odradek Bookstore for the Rome launch of the book with the Italian title “Il Canto e La Passione.”

The book was first launched in Turin and then Milan, Oral said, adding that the book was published in Italian by a leading Italian publishing house, Mursia.

Gencer was an extraordinary person, Oral said. “Music and opera was a mission for her. She used it to create a more beautiful world. She worked with the world’s most important conductors and educated young people.”

After the book was published in Turkey, young people came to know her better, Oral said. “She was given medals and honorary doctorates, and a statue of her was erected. She began to say, ‘My country is remembering me.’ Yes, Turkey remembered her after the 1990s, and she gave more seminars and became a state artist.”

After the launch of the book, Akil and his wife gave a reception at the embassy’s residence.