Tchaikovsky’s music to play in ‘Romeo and Juliet’
ANKARA
The Ankara State Opera and Ballet (ADOB) will bring the ballet performance of the great love story “Romeo and Juliet,” adapted from William Shakespeare’s work, to the stage. The ballet will be accompanied by the music of Pyotr Tchaikovsky.
The world-famous love story of Romeo and Juliet, the children of two families who are enemies but are connected to each other with great love, will be presented with the magical rhythm of the ballet on April 4 at the Opera Stage.
Speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency, ADOB director Volkan Ersoy, one of the choreographers of the work, said ADOB worked hard with Armağan Davran for the choreography.
“Seventeen years ago, I and Davran were performing in turns in another version of Romeo and Juliette with the music of Sergey Prokofyev. Now we made a different version of the same work. This is the 10th ballet work we made together,” he said.
Stating that many people were familiar with Prokofyev’s Romeo and Juliet and they wanted to present something different, Ersoy said: “We listened to all of Tchaikovsky’s music for six-seven months including all symphonies, quartets and ballets. Then we created the libretto and first made the music choreography. This work is a first; there is nothing similar in the world.”
Ersoy said that the world premiere of the ballet was made in 2016 by the İzmir State Opera and Ballet and then was included in the Antalya State Opera and Ballet repertoire in 2016-2017 art season, adding that it would be staged in Ankara this season.
He said that the studio work of the ballet was finished in three-four months. The music were listened by Tolga Taviş, he said. “The audience will leave the venue with lots of emotions. We also have a special surprise in the final act. I have never seen a viewer who did not cry while watching it,” he added.
Ersoy said that they invited the former DOB director and legendary ballerina Meriç Sümen Kanan to train the dancers for “Romeo and Juliet.”
“It was very valuable to get emotional and technical support from such a guide. Her knowledge, experience and comfort on the stage were very important; she supported us. The applause is the return of hard work. This is what an artist lives for. Art lovers closely follow us. Our tickets were sold out in two minutes,” he said.
Özge Başaran, who plays the Juliet character in the ballet, said that she has been dancing for years. “’Romeo and Juliet’ was the only work I wanted to dance before I quit. I feel lucky. This is a very special role. It is a dramatic and great love; there is no greater love than this one. We will try to show it on the stage,” she said.
Başaran said that they would stage an extraordinary choreography with their own interpretations.
Özge Onat, who plays the role of Lady Capulet, said that she would play one of the most dramatic roles in the play. “This is a character older than me and a passionate one. She is married but has a secret love with Tybalt and a strong dramatic side. I am very happy with this work.”
The dancer who plays Romeo, Burak Kayıhan, said: “Ballet requires a lot of effort. Expression is also very important in ballet. It is actually hard to reflect your character. I like character roles. We are reading the book, watching the film and thinking of what the artist wanted to tell. We don’t speak during the work but show it with our body, so we are performing more.”
The orchestra in the ballet work is conducted in turns by Murat Cem Orhan and Sunay Muratov.
Other dancers include Mine İzgi, Sultan Menteşe, Eren Keleş, İlhan Durgut, Burak Kayıhan, Kadir Okurer, Umut Can Arzuman, Uluç Aytan, Etkin Yüzer, Özge Onat, Gizem Tuncel, Ezgi Sarıoğlu, Hakan Odabaşı, Taner Oğuzhan, Güleycan Kocabey, Beril Baştürk, Ertuğrul Bolat, Mert Kocaay and Serhat Elifer.