National works dominate repertoire of opera ballet

ANTALYA - Anadolu Agency

The operas of Turkish composers draw big interest from audiences. The number of these works will continue in the next opera and ballet seasons, too.

The State Opera and Ballet (DOB) increased its audience numbers by 7.7 percent compared to last year and reached 431,000 people in its 2012-2013 season. The ballet took the stage in 153 national and international venues with 954 performances.

In this season, the number of national works in the repertoire of DOB is gaining ground, as 65 out of 159 performances were national ones. Also, the Turkish opera and ballet gained six new works this season. Three works were staged for the first time in the 2011-2012 season, during which 77 out of a total of 166 works were from Turkey. The 2010-2011 season saw three new works and 60 Turkish works were performed out of a total of 149 works.

This year DOB is planning to increase the number of Turkish works in its repertoire too. DOB General Director Rengim Gökmen, speaking about the 2012-2013 season, said that the most important improvement in the opera and ballet was the increase of national works in its repertoire.

He said that the dynamic 2012-2013 season was closed in May but performances were still continuing during festivals, adding that they were appealing to audiences of different profiles and most of the works were sold out in the season.

Gökmen noted that he was proud that national works were dominant in this season’s repertoire, adding that the operas of Turkish composers like “Sevginin Gücü,” “Lale Çılgınlığı,” “Aspendos Yüzyılların Aşkı,” “Karyağdı Hatun” had made their world premiere, and the “Afife” ballet met the audience once again after a 15-year hiatus.

“The number of works, which completely belong to Turkish composers, dancers and so on, increased to a great extent in recent years. Because as DOB, we made great progress in royalty payments to include these works in our repertoire. This encouraged our writers, composers and choreographers,” Gökmen said.

Turkish opera and ballet on world stage

Besides national works, Gökmen said, world renowned works such as “Macbeth,” “Tosca,” “Abduction from Seraglio” and “Rigoletto” were also performed on the stage. In İzmir, “La Sonnambula” “Don Quixote” and “La Traviata” drew big interest while “Carmen” was a hit in Mersin, “The Bartered Bride” and “The Marriage of Figaro” received much interest from audiences in Antalya and “Murat IV,” “Bach Alla Turca” and “Madame Butterfly” were popular in Samsun.

He said that the DOB artists opened up to the world and took the stage in many regions from the Balkans to the Middle East and from America to Africa.

Gökmen said that some tourists visited Istanbul particularly for opera and ballet performances, adding, “It makes us pleased that we serve Turkish tourism, too. Foreigners show more interest in performances staged in historical places such as the Topkapı Palace, and the Agia Irene Museum. We are also very hopeful about the Istanbul Opera Festival.”

He also noted that the recent Gezi Park events did not affect ticket sales and all tickets were sold out.