Istanbul state opera to open new season with Verdi

The Istanbul State Opera and Ballet (IDOB) will open the 2013-14 season next month with a concert at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum, the company's management announced last week. The Oct. 6 gala will feature a concert rendition of the opera "Giovanna d'Arco" (Joan of Arc) by Giuseppe Verdi, whose 200th birthday is being marked around the world throughout 2013. The Istanbul State Opera and Ballet Orchestra will be conducted by maestro Naci Ozguc for the concert, which will feature many of the star singers of the company, including tenors Hakan Aysev, Bulent Kulekci and Huseyin Likos and basso Barbaros B. Tastan as soloists, the company said in a press release. The concert will mark the first-ever performance by a Turkish opera company of "Giovanna d'Arco" and will start a season brimming with new productions that will have their Turkish premieres. Among them are a production of the Rossini opera "La Cenerentola" (Cinderella), directed by Yekta Kara, and the Handel opera "Giulio Cesare," to be directed by Mehmet Erguven. Some of the other productions in IDOB's 2013-14 repertoire are the Richard Strauss opera "Ariadne auf Naxos" (Ariadne on Naxos); the Turkish opera "Midas'in Kulaklari" (The Ears of Midas), composed by Ferit Tuzun; the Donizetti opera "L'elisir d'amore" (The Elixir of Love); and "Les contes d'Hoffmann" (The Tales of Hoffmann), an opera by Jacques Offenbach. For IDOB's full program, go to http://dobgm.gov.tr.