A timeless epic: The Gilgamesh Opera meets opera lovers

Premiered by the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet, the Epic of Gilgamesh opera met art lovers for the first time at the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM) Türk Telekom Opera Hall as part of the 16th International İstanbul Opera and Ballet Festival, organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's General Directorate of State Opera and Ballet.

The work, which received great interest from art lovers and was met with a standing ovation lasting for minutes, achieved a first on the opera stage.

An epic of the passion for freedom, the Gilgamesh opera possesses the quality of a timeless work due to its Sufi-inspired approach to the transition from ignorance to knowledge.

This epic drama, one of the works by Ahmed Adnan Saygun—one of the great composers of the 20th century raised in our country—carries the function of being a bridge between cultures and interprets the intellectual world of his homeland within a conceptual framework; it is an interweaving of the melodic nature of the East and the polyphony of the West.

One of the most important factors in the timelessness of the epic's subject is, without a doubt, that mankind is still chasing the same "dream."

Because it addresses both Sufi concepts such as God, love, and divine love, and is national and local in terms of history and the work itself, Gilgamesh continues to increase its value and importance for our society with each passing day.

In the 'Epic of Gilgamesh' opera, which Caner Akın staged with a grand visual feast by blending technology with stage techniques and revolutionizing opera staging in Turkey for the first time, the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet Orchestra was conducted by İbrahim Yazıcı.

The work features set design by Efter Tunç, costume design by Gizem Betil, lighting design by Cem Yılmazer, video design by Aisha Hajiyeva, and choreography by Deniz Özaydın, with Volkan Akkoç as the conductor of the IDOB Choir.

At the premiere; Narrator: Hüseyin Likos; Gilgamesh: Alican Güçoğlu; Enkidu: Yılmaz Berkay Günay;

Ninsun: Aylin Ateş; Shamash: Burak Bilgili; Ishtar: Şebnem Ağrıdağ Kışlalı; Anu: Gökhan Ürben; Antum: Asude Karayavuz; Enlil: F. Kılıç Aslan;

Humbaba: Melike Manav Yalçın; Alto Solo: Nursel Dinler Yazman;

A Woman from the People: Neslişah Pekin; Ishtar's Daughter: Burcu Soysev, Berin Kocabaşoğlu;

Siduri: Merve Topaldemir; Soprano Narrator: Pınar T. Koç; Irnina: Zeynep Halvaşi;

Bride: Buket Polat; Groom: Agit İşcan; Snake: Ecem Ovat;

Thought Dream A: Emre Güngör; Thought Dream B: Mualla Dedemen;

Thought Dream C: Banu Ergün; Thought Dream D: Ahmet Baykara; Utnapishtim: Alper Saldıran were on stage.

The work will meet art lovers again on Tuesday, May 20.