‘Turandot’ unrolls 2012 Aspendos Opera and Ballet Festival

Antalya’s annual opera feast, organized by the Ankara-based Directorate General of State Opera and Ballet (DOBGM), is this year split into two legs, the first being held in June and the second in September, in order to attract more audiences from both local and international tourists visiting the Mediterranean holiday hotspot during late summer.

The festival is marking its 19th edition this year, with the first leg of the program running until July 4, featuring six performances. The second leg is scheduled for Sept. 3-15.

On June 20, one of this year’s guest companies, the Estonian National Opera, presents its production of Verdi’s opera “Rigoletto.” Russia’s Ekaterinburg State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, the festival’s second foreign guest in 2012, will take to the stage twice: on June 25 to present its rendition of Borodin’s opera “Prince Igor” and on June 27 to stage the ballet “Love and Death” by Polad Bülbüloğlu. South Korea’s Daegu Opera will share the stage on June 30 with the Antalya State Opera and Ballet Orchestra and Choir to present a Korean-Turkish production of Verdi’s “La Traviata.” Capping the first leg of the festival will be the Samsun and Mersin State Opera and Ballet companies, which will stage their co-production of the ballet “Zorba the Greek” on July 4.

For the full program, see www.aspendosfestival.gov.tr.