Opera and Ballet

The earliest official and academic ballet school was first established in Istanbul in 1948 and moved to Ankara in 1950 to be attached to the State Conservatory. Dame Ninette de Valois, the founder of the British Royal Ballet who had been invited to Turkey in 1947 in order to prepare the set-up for the State ballet school, made an enormous contribution to the development of Turkish ballet. The first performance by the Ballet Department of the Ankara State Conservatory took place in 1950 when the “Pastoral Suite” and “Keloglan” ballets choreographed by Joy Newton using the music composed by Ulvi Cemal Erkin were presented.

This was followed by “El Amor Brujo”, the one-act ballet “Coppelia” and “Çesmebasi”, which was the first authentic ballet created by Dame de Valois merging Turkish folklore and ballet techniques and using the music composed by Ferit Tüzün.

The State Opera and Ballet, which had been functioning within the context of the State Theaters Establishment Law promulgated on June 18, 1949, was de facto detached from this body through the protocol drawn up by the Under-secretariat of Culture in 1968 and started functioning as a separate directorate general as of 1970.

The operetta, “Die Entführung aus dem Serail” staged by
the State Opera and Ballet artists

The Directorate General of the State Opera and Ballet, which aims to promote opera and ballet throughout the country, carries on its activities in its headquarters in Ankara and through directorates in Istanbul, Izmir, Mersin and Antalya, the last one having been opened in 1999.

Moreover, efforts to catch up with the universal dimension of the performing arts in all aspects are accelerated through new formations such as the Modern Dance Ensemble, set up as a part of the State Opera and Ballet and now celebrating its 12th year. The opera and ballet institutions also run child choirs and ballets to promote this form of art.

The Fourth International Ballet Festival, organized by the Directorate General of State Opera and Ballet, was held between August 11 and 31, 2006, in the historical Bodrum Castle.

The Aspendos Opera and Ballet Festival, the most important organization by the Directorate General of State Opera and Ballet in regard to arts, has been hosting lots of foreign groups as an international festival since 1988. The festival, viewed by nearly 80,000 people every year, was held between June 10 and July 22 in 2006 for the 13th time.


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