Events taking place at the AKM between March 18-24

While the plays ‘Bella Figura’ and ‘Equus’ (Küheylan) will be staged at the AKM Theater Hall, the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet will present the ‘Giselle’ ballet and the ‘Faust’ opera at the AKM Türk Telekom Opera Hall.

The exhibition titled ‘Ornament’ (Süs), prepared specifically for International Women's Day, will continue to welcome art lovers.

MEHTER CONCERT ON THE 109TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ÇANAKKALE VICTORY - ISTANBUL HISTORICAL TURKISH MUSIC ENSEMBLE

MARCH 18 - 21:00 - AKM THEATER HALL

The Mehter section of the Istanbul Historical Turkish Music Ensemble, under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, General Directorate of Fine Arts, and led by Mehterbaşı Şükrü Alkan, will meet with audiences at the AKM Theater Hall on March 18 at 21:00. The performance will commemorate all the martyrs who gave their lives to make these lands a homeland on the 109th anniversary of the Çanakkale Victory, while also featuring marches, heroic folk songs, and hymns that encompass the spirit of the month of Ramadan.

HAYROLA KARYOLA - METİN ZAKOĞLU

MARCH 19 - 20:30 - AKM MULTIPURPOSE HALL

The play ‘Hayrola Karyola’, written by the master playwright Ferhan Şensoy and which garnered great interest in its time, will be staged again after 22 years. Directed by and starring Metin Zakoğlu alongside Şebnem Köstem, the play will meet the audience at the AKM Multipurpose Hall on March 19 at 20:30. The play, which focuses on the funny adventures of a married couple and another couple about to get married, addresses current and economic issues.

SULTAN NEVRUZ HAZRETİ ALİ GREETING - ALEVI-BEKTASHI CULTURE AND CEMEVİ PRESIDENCY

TUESDAY, MARCH 19 - 21:00 - AKM THEATER HALL

Organized by the General Directorate of Fine Arts and the Alevi-Bektashi Culture and Cemevi Presidency, the ‘Sultan Nevruz Hazreti Ali Greeting’ will meet the audience at the AKM Theater Hall on Tuesday, March 19, at 21:00. Traditional folk songs will be performed by Çiğdem Elmas, Emirhan Kartal, and Sercan Direk during the event.

1915 FOR THE SAKE OF A CRESCENT - STATE FOLK DANCE ENSEMBLE

MARCH 19 - 21:00 - TÜRK TELEKOM OPERA HALL

The work titled ‘1915 For the Sake of a Crescent’ (1915 Bir Hilal Uğruna), prepared by the State Folk Dance Ensemble under the General Directorate of Fine Arts to commemorate the Çanakkale War—the epic of the Turkish nation's heroism—and to honor the Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and our martyrs, will be staged at the Türk Telekom Opera Hall on March 19 at 21:00.

In the production, artistically directed by Yıldız Çankaya, different branches of art will be combined with technology to present a dramatic performance to the audience.

THE MAGIC LAMP - FAMILY AND CHILDREN

MARCH 19 - 13:00 AND 15:00 - MARCH 20 - 13:00 AND 15:00 - AKM MULTIPURPOSE HALL

The play titled ‘The Magic Lamp’, adapted by blending the Danish author Andersen’s story ‘Thumbelina’ with ‘Aladdin’s Magic Lamp’, will meet its young audience at the AKM Multipurpose Hall on March 19-20. The play follows an adventure that begins when Hacivat asks Karagöz to clean a lamp, not knowing it is magic.

GISELLE - ISTANBUL STATE OPERA AND BALLET

MARCH 20 - 20:30 - TÜRK TELEKOM OPERA HALL

The ‘Giselle’ ballet, which has been watched with great interest at the AKM Türk Telekom Opera Hall since the beginning of the season, will continue to meet art lovers on March 20. Based on the Legend of the Wilis described by German poet Heinrich Heine in his book ‘On Germany’, ‘Giselle’ is considered one of the most important works of ballet, set to the music of French composer Adolphe Adam (1803-1856) with choreography by Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, and Marius Petipa.

The ‘Giselle’ ballet, which blends rural life with the supernatural world and emphasizes the sublimity of love and the indispensability of passion, tells the tragic and romantic story of a young, beautiful, and shy peasant girl named Giselle who loves to dance, and Count Albrecht, who introduces himself to her as a farmer named ‘Loys’ and falls madly in love with her.

ÇANAKKALE VICTORY CONCERT - ISTANBUL STATE TURKISH MUSIC ENSEMBLE

MARCH 21 - 20:30 - MULTIPURPOSE HALL

The ‘Çanakkale Victory Concert’, to be performed by the Istanbul State Turkish Music Ensemble under the direction of Ferruh Yarkın, will meet its audience at the AKM Multipurpose Hall on March 21.

FAUST - ISTANBUL STATE OPERA AND BALLET

MARCH 21 - 20:30 - MARCH 23 - 16:00 - TÜRK TELEKOM OPERA HALL

Gounod’s masterpiece ‘Faust’ will be staged once again by the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet at the AKM Türk Telekom Opera Hall on March 21-23. Adapted from the work of the same name by German author J. W. Goethe, the libretto of the ‘Faust’ opera by French composer Charles-François Gounod belongs to Jules Paul Barbier and Michel Florentin Carré.

BELLA FIGURA - ISTANBUL STATE THEATER

MARCH 22 - 20:30 - MARCH 23 - 20:30 - AKM THEATER HALL

The Istanbul State Theater will stage the play ‘Bella Figura’, written by Yasmina Reza, at the AKM Theater Hall on March 22 and 23 at 20:30. A man (Boris), who comes to a luxury restaurant to have an affair with his lover (Andrea), hits the mother-in-law (Yvonne) of his wife's best friend (Françoises) with his car.

Thus, Boris and Andrea find themselves in a difficult night where they have to spend time with the rest of the family gathered for Yvonne’s birthday. Directed by Hakan Çimenser, the play’s cast includes Ebru Şatıroğlu, Eray Cezayirlioğlu, Aral Seskir, Ebru Kaymakçı, Gönen Aykaç, and Evrim Feyza Geboloğlu.

ISTANBUL STATE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA DENİZBANK CONCERTS - ARIN KARAMÜRSEL MEMORIAL CONCERT

MARCH 22 - 20:30 - TÜRK TELEKOM OPERA HALL

The Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra will be on stage for the ‘Arın Karamürsel Memorial Concert’, dedicated to one of our country’s valuable pianists, Arın Karamürsel, whom we lost in March last year.

In the concert, which will take place at the Türk Telekom Opera Hall on March 22 at 20:30, a repertoire consisting of works by productive names such as L. v. Beethoven and V. Kalinnikov, who continued their composing despite health problems through great struggles, will be performed. The valuable pianist Özgür Aydın will interpret Beethoven’s Fourth ‘Piano Concerto’.

ALARA HEKİMOĞLU-CAN ERKEKLİ - WIND OF ROMANTICISM - COFFEE CONCERTS

MARCH 23 - 11:00 - TÜRK TELEKOM OPERA HALL LOWER FOYER

In the program of the Coffee Concerts, which have become a classic on Saturday mornings at the Atatürk Cultural Center, a program consisting of works by Schubert, Grieg, and Franck, performed by Alara Hekimoğlu and Can Erkekli, will meet the audience at the Türk Telekom Opera Hall Lower Foyer Area on March 23.

RICHARD

MARCH 24 - 15:00 - TÜRK TELEKOM OPERA HALL

The play ‘Richard’, written and directed by Okan Bayülgen, will meet art lovers at the AKM Türk Telekom Opera Hall on March 24, 2024, at 15:00. Bayülgen opens a discussion on Shakespeare’s dramatization of Richard.

While discussing being a stranger, loneliness, and becoming savage, an imaginary theater troupe performs Shakespeare’s Richard III again.

IN MEMORY OF SUZNAK RAHMİ BEY, PRINCE SEYFEDDİN EFENDİ, AND HASİB DEDE - PRESIDENTIAL CLASSICAL TURKISH MUSIC CHOIR

MARCH 24 - 11:30 - AKM THEATER HALL

The Presidential Classical Turkish Music Choir dedicates its March concert to the memories of three great composers. The first part of the concert consists of Sûznâk, one of the ancient modes of Turkish music history.

In the instrumental section of the concert, where soloist Aynur Ezgi Yüksel will take the stage with neoclassical works, works by Sultan Abdülaziz’s youngest son, Prince Seyfeddin Efendi, on the 150th anniversary of his birth, and Hasib Dede, on the 125th anniversary of his birth, will be performed. The choir, under the direction of Mehmet Güntekin, will perform works by Rahmi Bey, one of the greatest song composers of Turkish music, in the final part of the concert in memory of the 100th anniversary of his death.

EQUUS (KÜHEYLAN)

MARCH 24 - 20:00 - AKM THEATER HALL

‘Equus’, the Tony Award-winning masterpiece by ‘Amadeus’ playwright Peter Shaffer, which was inspired by a true event and staged 1,200 times on Broadway, will be staged under the direction of Barış Erdenk. The play, starring Kerem Alışık, Emir Özden, Hatice Aslan, Devrim Nas, Açelya Devrim Yılhan, and Gizem Katmer, will meet the audience at the AKM Theater Hall on March 24.

‘Equus’ tells the story of 17-year-old Alan Strang (Emir Özden), who is hospitalized due to a terrible incident he committed while a slave to his passions, and the psychiatrist Martin Dysart (Kerem Alışık), who analyzes and tries to heal him.

‘ORNAMENT’ (SÜS) EXHIBITION - DEDICATED TO MARCH 8 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

MARCH 8-31, 2024 - AKM GALLERY

The exhibition titled ‘Ornament’ (Süs), which can be visited at the AKM Gallery until March 31, was prepared specifically for March 8 International Women's Day. The exhibition addresses the dimension of meaning in the female face by focusing on women's role in society, their identity formation processes, and the struggle of working women who challenge patriarchal norms.

Featuring works from different art disciplines, the exhibition aims to offer a surprising experience by focusing on the balance between men and women, the place of women in society, and the handling of the concept of woman from different perspectives.