İDOB opens season with Puccini opera

ISTANBUL

The Istanbul State Opera and Ballet (İDOB) has presented the works of Giacomo Puccini’s “II Tabarro [The Cloak] Opera” to art lovers at the opening of the 2020-2021 season.

The concert at the Kadıköy Süreyya Opera House was organized following the new type of COVID-19 measures and ensuring seating and orchestra arrangements to be as per the hygiene and social distancing rules determined by the Health Ministry.

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency, İDOB Director Suat Arıkan stated that they would perform for the first time in a closed area this season. “We are trying to find the right one through trial and error. We try to do it by following the rules in line with the circular of the Culture and Tourism Ministry and the instructions of the Istanbul Governor’s Office. Here, our audience buys tickets with great devotion and courage. Therefore, we also have a responsibility towards them.”

Stating that they will be performing operas with a concert version due to COVID-19 measures, Arıkan said, “We will be organizing performances at 4 p.m. too on weekdays so that our audience over 65 years old can come. This is a first for İDOB. We will see through time what benefits our decisions will bring in practice.”

Arıkan emphasized that art activities should continue, albeit with certain measures, and said that both the artists and the art lovers should be psychologically strong in this process.

Stating that the performances will receive audiences as one-third of the concert hall capacity, Arıkan said: “Cultural institutions do not expect box office revenue during this period. The important thing is to continue our existence in a healthy way, so maybe we can increase the number of the same performances to reach more audiences. I am also curious about the audience’s reaction. We will see together.”

‘II Tabarro Opera’ premiered in 1918

The “II Tabarro Opera” is considered as one of the products of the realism movement (verismo) in opera that emerged in Italy at the end of the 19th century.

The first and tragic opera of Puccini’s one-act “II Trittico” series consists of three operas and depicts realistic elements such as infidelity, ruthlessness, sadness and despair.