Istanbul Opera Festival opens

Istanbul Opera Festival opens

ISTANBUL
The 6th International Istanbul Opera Festival started on June 11 with the three-act opera “Yusuf and Züleyha,” written by Nezihe Araz and composed by Okan Demirtaş.

The festival will continue with “Romeo and Juliet,” to be staged by the Mersin State Opera and Ballet on June 13 at the Haliç Congress Center.  

The festival’s opening was set to be made with Mozart’s “Abduction from the Seraglio” on June 8 but because of bad weather conditions, this performance was postponed to June 15 and 16. It will be stage in the garden of the Istanbul Archaeology Museums. 

The festival will end with the Gala Concert on June 18. The Istanbul State Opera and Ballet Orchestra, conducted by the renowned Raoul Grüneis, will accompany tenors Murat Karahan, Ünüşan Kuloğlu, soprano Catherine Foster and mezzosoprano Michelle Breedt.