I have always wanted to attend an opera performance at the Aspendos International Festival, which takes place every year in the ancient Roman ampitheatre of Aspendos near Antalya in the summer. For two weeks from mid-June to early July, the Turkish State Opera and Ballet organizes a series of opera, ballet and other music performances in the beautiful Aspendos ampitheatre, sometimes even featuring world-renown philharmonic orchestras such as the Wiener Philharmoniker. Programmes change from year to year, and further information can be obtained from Turkish State Opera and Ballets' (Devlet Opera ve Balesi) official website www.dobgm.gov.tr
However, it was not until last year that I finally had the chance to attend an opera performance in Aspendos. The opera of my choice was Mozart's 'Die Entführung aus dem Serail', which was set in the 17th century Ottoman Empire. The reason I chose to watch this particular opera in Aspendos was because this was the first time I had the opportunity to watch this piece of work performed in parts in Turkish by Turkish-speaking actors. Honestly speaking, it was often very awkward to watch and listen to some burly Americans or Germans in traditional Ottoman costumes speaking Austro-Hungarian style German although they were supposed to be playing the role of an Ottoman pasha and his servants. Does anyone ever know of an Ottoman Pasha who spoke German in his harem?
Hence for the sake of authenticity, I decided to watch this opera in an all-Turkish environment. And the extra attraction of being able to watch an opera performance in such a unique ambience with extraordinary acoustics makes the whole experience even more interesting. After all one does not get the chance everyday to watch a Mozart opera with an essentially Turkish theme in an antique Roman ampitheatre built over 2000 years ago in Turkey.
To start with, I have already purchased my ticket online at the website of Turkish State Opera and Ballets (www.dobgm.gov.tr) months in advance, but it is also possible to purchase the tickets at the ticket kiosk on the spot a few hours before the start of the performance. All performances take place in the evenings to enable the audience to enjoy the atmosphere of an open-air opera experience under Antalya's summer night sky and against an illuminated background of the columns and portals of Aspendos' ancient theatre stage.
There are several ways of obtaining tickets for the performances. The easiest way is to purchase a ticket-plus-transport package from any travel agencies in Antalya, Alanya, Side, Kemer etc. during the Aspendos Festival. The package includes entry ticket to the performance of your choice and transportation from your resort or hotel to the Aspendos theatre and back. In tourist resorts on the Turkish Riviera, virtually all tour agencies offer such Aspendos ticket package in the summer.
Those with own modes of transport can opt to purchase the tickets either online and then have them picked up at Turkish State Opera and Ballets' sales kiosk in downtown Antalya or at Antalya's State Opera House, or purchase the tickets at the ticket kiosk in Antalya a few days before the performance. Those who do not have time to purchase the tickets in advance can opt to buy the tickets at the entrance of Aspendos theatre before the performance commences.
For those who wish to attend the performance but have no own means of transport, the organizing body of the Aspendos Festival have arranged special buses for ticket-holders for a small fee. These special buses leave at a designated time from certain designated stops in downtown Antalya. Those who intend to make use of this service are required to call at least one day in advance to make seat reservations. The price, reservation telephone number and time/place of departure of this special bus service will be announced on the Turkish State Opera and Ballets' website. The bus will bring ticket-holders all the way to the Aspendos Theatre, and return to Antalya about 20 minutes after the end of the performance.
As the sky does not get dark in the summer in Antalya before 9pm, most performances are scheduled to start at 9pm in order to maximise the special lighting effects of the Aspendos Ampitheatre in the night. Seats inside the Ampitheatre are divided into several different color zones. When you enter the theatre, show your ticket to the stewards and they will show you to your zone according to the information printed on the tickets. The colour zones differ according to the price you paid: cheapest tickets are seated in zones with restricted views of the stage, while the most expensive tickets will get you a seat right in the front of the stage and the orchestra. Seating inside a particular colour zone is non-numbered, which means as long as you remain within the same colour zone, you are free to pick your seats anywhere you like. Free cushions are provided by the organizing body hence there is no need to bring your own cushions or buy them from one of the vendors outside.
I queued up to enter the ampitheatre as soon as I arrive in order to take some photos before the performance starts. Although some critics do not think highly of the niveau of the performances on offered at the Aspendos Festival, I found it a very interesting experience to be able to watch an opera inside Aspendos, and the production itself is quite authentic, especially the costumes and the way the actors carry themselves on the stage. At least I did not get that weird feeling of uneasiness throughout the entire performance, a sensation which very often appears when watching this particular piece of Mozart's work in major western opera houses and listening to the Sultan and the soprano in full Ottoman gears singing and talking to one another in archaic German.
Copyrights@2012. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
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