International opera festival curtain opens in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

The 8th International Istanbul Opera Festival will meet art lovers between June 13 and 23, kicking off with Mozart’s famous “Abduction from the Seraglio,” staged by Yekta Kara. 

The opera, conducted by Zdravko Lazarov, will be performed by the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet on June 13, 14 and 15 in the garden of the Istanbul Archaeology Museum. 

Due to the 100th year of his birth, the founder of the Ankara and Istanbul Opera, state artist, director and opera artist Aydın Gün, who has made many contributions to the development of opera in Turkey, is being commemorated in the 2016-2017 season of the State Opera and Ballet with a concert series. He will also be commemorated in the festival program. 

The concert, which has been performed in the southern province of Mersin, Ankara and the northern province of Samsun, will also be performed in Istanbul by sopranos Zerrin Karslı, Deniz Yetim, mezzo soprano Aylin Ateş, tenor Emrah Sözer, bassist Şafak Güç, and baritone Caner Akgün under the baton of Selman Ada. 

On June 20 at Zorlu PSM, William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” will be brought to the stage by the Mersin State Opera and Ballet. The orchestra conductor will be Nathalie Marin. 

The Istanbul State Opera and Ballet will close the festival on June 23 with “Charles Gounod’s “Faust” opera.  The opera at the Zorlu SM will be conducted by Roberto Gianola. 

Tickets for the festival are available in the Zorlu PSM box offices and in the garden of the Istanbul Archaeology Museum on the day of the events, priced between 30 and 80 Turkish Liras.