Istanbul, the cultural and economic capital of Turkey, has two opera houses, the Turk Telekom Opera Halllocated in l’Atatürk Cultural Center, this vast cultural complex (which includes this sumptuous opera house with a capacity of 2,200 seats) built in 2021 on the famous Taksim Square, the nerve heart of the megalopolis of 17 million inhabitants that is Istanbul -, and another hall, located on the other side of the Bosphorus, in Kadiköy, a rather chic and quiet district of Istanbul, the Sureyya Operaa magnificent Art Deco building built in the 1920s based on the model of our Parisian Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. These two lyric theaters are placed under the rule of the dashing Turkish baritone Caner Akgünwho arrived at the head of the Istanbul institution a year ago (and who also directs the Istanbul Opera and Ballet Festival, which takes place in May). On the occasion of a superb representation of Muhammad II by Gioacchino Rossini, we met him to present his saison 24/25but also his projects and ambitions for his two theaters.
ClassiqueNews: Before starting the interview, I know that you wanted to express yourself on something important to you…
Caner Akgün : Indeed… Today, November 30, is the birthday of the founder of the Istanbul National Opera Ballet, Mr. Aydin Gün. He was 90 years old when he died in 2008, and he is very important to us. In 1960, the Istanbul National Theater began offering opera and ballet performances, and the opening night featured the famous Turkish soprano Leyla Gener, in the opera Tosca by Puccini. Mr. Aydin is very important to us, his vision too, and I feel his soul is there too now. The AKM (Editor’s note: one of the two opera houses in Istanbul, the “modern”) that he knew disappeared twice in the flames, and now we have a brand new one, inaugurated in 2021, and the Last year was our first full season in this building. I am very happy that we can do very large productions here, because the technical conditions are optimal in the new building, especially compared to our second opera house, the Sureyya Opera, in the Kadikoy district (Editor’s note: in the Asian part from the city, on the other side of the Bosphorus). However, our traditional rules are also very important because we have a great tradition of beautiful songhere in Istanbul, as well as a very important ballet tradition. You know, I was appointed artistic director of the two opera houses in Istanbul last year, on November 6, 2023 to be precise, but I was already part of the “house” because I was (and still am… ) baritone with the Istanbul National Opera and Ballet.
ClassiqueNews: Can you introduce yourself to our French readership?
CA: Well, firstly, I studied mathematics at Ankara University, after spending my youth in Bolu, a city halfway between Ankara and Istanbul. And after the third year, I decided to go to Ankara State Conservatory, Hacettepe University, and in the last year of my studies at the conservatory, I started singing in the troupe of the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet… that was seventeen years ago. And during this period I sang about 25 different roles… In the meantime, I also worked, as a consultant, with the former artistic director of the Istanbul Opera, as well as in Ankara, with M . Tan Sagtürk, the general director of the 6 State Opera Ballet of Turkey (Editor’s note: the six cities are Ankara, İstanbul, Izmir, Antalya, Samsun and Mersin). Finally, he appointed me artistic director of the Istanbul Opera last year, and we have both great projects and great ambitions for this house, because Istanbul is a real bridge between different cultures, at the same time time as a crossroads of Western and Eastern influences. We also wish to shed special light on our annual opera and ballet festival which will begin in May 2025. But, to return to my career as a singer, this season I will sing the title role of Don GiovanniGiorgio Germont in La Traviata in Belgrade, Ford’s role in Falstaffbut also the title role Rigoletto in Samsun, and Scarpia in Mersin. You know, I think that thanks to my Mathematics studies, I am very well organized, and I can thus assume both my job as a singer and that of artistic director of an opera! But the truth is that I also have an incredible team that helps me a lot and that I can count on when I’m outside of Istanbul, performing my singing roles in Turkey and Europe.
CQN: How do you create your seasons here at Istanbul State Opera? What will be the highlights of this 25/26 season?
Well, I decide my season alone but of course I present it and talk about it with Mr. Tan Sagtürk, but he doesn’t really interfere because he trusts my work, and because we share the same visions and ambitions. As a singer, I see things from the inside, I know the needs and possible problems for singers and stagings. But unlike what happens in European theaters, we do not establish our schedules years in advance, for the moment at least, and we have just announced as recently as today the agenda of the 6 national operas until March 30.
As for the highlights of our season, this December we will have an important premiere of a Turkish opera composed by Cemal Resit Rey, who was a very important music teacher and music composer during and after the Revolution of our Republic of Turkey. The premiere will take place at the Sureyya Opera House, dedicated to national operas, Turkish operettas and Turkish or modern ballet, as you know as a frequent spectator of our two operas… In January, we will premiere there La Traviatadirected by a Turkish director. Recep Ayyilmaz, with only Turkish singers, but the conductor will be Italian, Alessandro De Marchi, who I think will give new “colors” to Verdi’s masterpiece, that’s why I chose him. In February we will play The Turn of the Screw by Britten, conducted by an English conductor. Then, in March, we will perform Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Julietin a new choreography by Brazilian Ricardo Amarante. In April we will present an old production of Carmenthen in May we will have a very important production, the most anticipated event of Istanbul Opera this season: Gilmagisan opera composed by Ahmed Adnan Saygun (born 1907). Saygun composed the first Turkish opera – “ Ozsoy Opera » – which was a specific order from our President Kemal Atartürk, in the early 1930s. It is our Maestro Ibrahim Yazici who will direct Gilmagis – whose main role is played by a dancer and which will be directed by Can El (member of the Izmir State Opera and Ballet). This opera was composed starting in 1962… but was not completed until 1983, when it premiered – and it is truly our “big” event of the 24/25 season… and also the highlight of our Opera and Ballet Festival next May.
CQN: What are your plans and ambitions for the Istanbul Opera?
CA: I would like to expand our networks in Europe, in particular by inviting famous European singers, directors and conductors. For now, 100% of our funding comes from both the City of Istanbul and the Turkish government, but in the future we may be able to explore “private” funding. And my ambitions are also in terms of repertoire… You know, there is a strong and ancient tradition of operas by Wagner and Strauss, here in Istanbul, and my dream is to revive this tradition, with works like Lohengrin or Tannhauser, Ariane to Naxos or Arabellato start. At the Sureyya Opera, I would like to increase the number of creations because we must support contemporary music, but also give a new chance to our traditional Turkish operettas, and again to chamber music which I love very much. But you have to go step by step, because there is a lot to do…
Comments collected by Emmanuel Andrieu at the Istanbul Opera, December 2, 2024
Photo credit © Murat Dürüm & Mert Gider
