Turks to stage Mozart opera in Chinese city

BEIJING - Anatolia News Agency

Yekta Kara (2nd L) held a press conference for the promotion of the opera. AA photo

Mozart’s famous opera “Abduction from the Seraglio” will be staged in China for the first time by Turks as part of the Year of Turkey in China.

At a press conference held at the National Theater in Beijing, State Opera and Ballet director Yekta Kara said the opera, which was staged in Vienna for the first time in 1782, brought together Eastern and Western culture. She said the show would be staged on May 1 and 2 in Beijing and 140 artists from the Turkish State Opera and Ballet would perform in the show.

“Abduction from the Seraglio” is the first opera Mozart wrote in Vienna, and the story is set in 18th century Turkey. The work is lighthearted and frequently comic, with little of the deep character exploration or darker feelings found in Mozart’s later operas. The opera was a huge success and repeatedly performed in Vienna during Mozart’s lifetime.

Throughout the Year of Turkey in China, a number of performance groups from various parts of Turkey will put on special shows across the country at events, programs and exhibitions that will be organized in the country.