“La Traviata” will be staged at the 17th International Istanbul Opera and Ballet Festival

ISTANBUL (AA) – Giuseppe Verdi’s opera La Traviata will meet art lovers today and tomorrow at the 17th International Istanbul Opera and Ballet Festival organized by the General Directorate of State Opera and Ballet (DOB). The work, one of Verdi’s most interpreted works, will be staged at the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM) Türk Telekom Opera Hall. Conductor Eyyub Guliyev, soprano Inara Babayeva and tenor Ramil Qasımov, who are among the artists of the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater and internationally known successful names of the Azerbaijani classical music and opera world, will meet art lovers at the festival.

Eyyub Guliyev, the chief orchestra conductor of the Azerbaijan State Opera and Ballet Theater, stated in his statement to the AA correspondent that he received this invitation for the first time and said, “I had many concerts in Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir and Bursa in Türkiye. Our Azerbaijani opera singers also attended the festival with me. In our performances, soloists from two sister countries will share the stage. he said.

Guliyev stated that the rehearsals went well and said, “I liked the orchestra, the choir and your soloists very much. The human aspects really appealed to me. They are very high quality and professional. It was my pleasure to work with them. However, they are very sympathetic and kind. They welcomed my requests. I felt like we had been working together for years, not for the first time. he said. – The smiles of the beautiful people here make me very happy.

Soprano Inara Babayeva expressed her pleasure in coming to Türkiye and said, “This is my first performance at the Istanbul Opera and Ballet Festival.” This time I am playing the character of Violetta Valery. I am very pleased. I feel like I’m family here, not a guest. I gave concerts in different concerts and theaters in Istanbul. It was my first time in this magnificent building. We had very little time. In the meantime, we phoned and met.

We came ready. I wholeheartedly invite those who love opera and classical music. he said. Tenor Ramil Qasımov stated that the friendship between Türkiye and Azerbaijan continues and said, “It is not a coincidence that the great leader Haydar Aliyev has always said, ‘We are one nation, two states.’ We have many religions, languages, thoughts, civilizations and common values. I came to Istanbul for the first time. The smiles of the beautiful people here make me very happy.

It makes me very proud to be in the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet. he said. – Written with inspiration from The Woman with the Camellias Inspired by the immortal work of Alexandre Dumas (son), The Woman with the Camellias, the opera La Traviata, one of Giuseppe Verdi’s masterpieces, brings together the touching story of love and sacrifice with its impressive music. The work, in which the libretto written by Francesco Maria Piave and Verdi’s music gives it a universal spirit, is not only a love story, but also a mirror of criticism held up to the society of the period.

In the work, social taboos, the roles assigned to women, and the liberating power of love are questioned beneath the fun-filled surface of Paris. In the work, Violetta Valery will be played alternately by Inara Babayeva and Evren Işık Yasemin, Alfredo Germont by Mert Süngü and Ramil Qasımov, Giorgio Germont by Caner Akgün and Murat Güney, and Giuseppe by Anıl Önder and Hazal Ata. Barbora F. Hitay as Flora Bervoix, Çağrı Köktekin as Gastone, Burak Kul as Barone Douphol, Erencan Karadi as Marchese d’Obigny, Emre Güngör as Dottore Grenvil, Seda Taşpınar as Annina, Berke Tükenmez as Commissionario, Tuğrul Savaşcı as Alexandre Dumas, Cem Cüneyt Çelik as Giuseppe Verdi.

will play. Eyup Guliyev will conduct the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet (İDOB) Orchestra and Paolo Villa will conduct the İDOB choir in the work, which is staged and dramaturgy by Recep Ayyılmaz. The decor design of the work was choreographed by Kürşat Kılıç, with Çağda Çitkaya, the costume design by Gizem Betil, and the lighting design by Yakup Çartık.