That evening, when the stage of the Vienna Opera opened, we were met with a beautiful moonlight appearing among the clouds. Many angels were flying above the clouds; some were gliding down to the ground and then soaring back up into the clouds again. Since that time, I had longed to be the first to present this scene to the public in my theater in Istanbul.’
Süreyya İlmen
There is a jewel box in Kadiköy which is a neighbourhood that is the heart of culture and arts on the Anatolian side of İstanbul. This jewel box is the Süreyya Opera House built by Süreyya Pasha who was fascinated with the idea of constructing a building that would meet the cultural needs of İstanbulites. As an Ottoman intellectual, he was impressed by the glamorous theatre halls across Europe during his visits and wanted to build a theatre hall inspired by art deco. Inspired by Champs-Elysées Theatre in Paris on the exterior and German architecture in the interior, “Süreya Opereti” opened on March 6, 1927 shortly after the declaration of the Turkish Republic,
It became the first opera house on the Anatolian side of İstanbul and the the sixth in the entire city.
Süreyya Paşa
Ironically, due to lack of technical deficiencies, it functioned as a theatre hall and later as a cinema for many years. The building went through an extensive restoration in 2006 and opened finally as a Opera House in 2007.
In 2007, Kadıköy Municipality prepared a humorous video due to the opening of the Opera House. Video mentions how we have had to wait for 80 years for opera to arrive in a building that was meant to be an opera house in 1927.
Video says ‘we waited for 80 years and finally they arrived in 2007. A dream came true. Opera is in Kadıköy.’
Today, this jewel box is ‘home to Istanbul State Opera and Ballet. Opera and ballet performances are staged three days a week at the venue. The house hosts also events like arts exhibitions and festivities like the Republic Day Ball. (https://sureyyaoperasi.kadikoy.bel.tr/en/about-us)
100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic was celebrated by a concert held at the Süreyya Opera.
Last month, it hosted a special set of performances in memory of a leading musical figure in Modern Turkish Republican history: Ahmet Adnan Saygun. Saygun is famous with harmonising western music with traditional Turkish folk songs.
A recent Turkish film dedicated to Ahmet Adnan Saygun was recently released. The film was titled a ‘A Song of the Republic’ which takes its story from the composition of the first Turkish Opera composed by Saygun himself.
Let’s lend an ear to the concert in Ahmet Adnan Saygun’s memory performed in the Jewel box in the heart of Kadıköy which was ancient Khalkedon!
