Ayhan Aydan (1924,

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

– 19 February 2009,

Çeşme Çeşme () is a coastal town and the administrative centre of the district of the same name in Turkey's westernmost end, on a promontory on the tip of the peninsula that also carries the same name and that extends inland to form a whole with the ...

, Izmir) was a Turkish

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

singer. In 1944, she graduated from

Ankara State Conservatory The Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory ( tr, Hacettepe Üniversitesi Ankara Devlet Konservatuvarı), the first conservatory to be founded in the Republic of Turkey, was established in 1936 by a directive of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. ...

Opera Department. She appeared in some small operas.

Carl Ebert Carl Anton Charles Ebert (20 February 1887 – 14 May 1980), was an actor, stage director and arts administrator. Ebert's early career was as an actor, training under Max Reinhardt and becoming one of the leading actors in his native Germany duri ...

noticed her, and her role as Susanna in the opera '' The Marriage of Figaro'' started her professional career. When she was 19 years old, she married musician

Hasan Ferit Alnar Hasan Ferid Alnar (11 March 1906 – 30 July 1978) was a Turkish classical music composer. He was a member of the Turkish Five, in the first half of the 20th century. Alnar is known for his efforts for harmonization of classical Turkish music e ...

and had a son named ''Aydan'' from this marriage. Ebert wanted to take Ayhan Aydan to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to participate on stage at the

Glyndebourne Opera Festival Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England. History Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been held annually since 1934, e ...

, but she could not participate on this for some reason. In 1951, his uncle Mithat Dulge met with Adnan Menderes, a lawyer he gave near

Çubuklu Çubuklu is a neighbourhood in Beykoz district on the Anatolian side of the Bosphorus in İstanbul, Turkey. It was called Katangion (Κατάγγιον in Greek) in Byzantine times when it was a recreational area. During the Ottoman era, some ...

Dam. Aydan and Menderes were involved in a scandal that led to charges of adultery and baby-killing. Menderes was the first democratically elected prime minister of Turkey. In 1960, the May 27 coup d'état toppled the government, and Menderes and others were imprisoned on the island

Yassıada Yassıada ( Turkish: Flat Island), officially renamed Democracy and Freedom Island ( Turkish: Demokrasi ve Özğürlükler Adası) in 2013, is one of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, to the southeast of Istanbul. In Byzantine times, i ...

and put on trial in a courthouse there. In the "

Baby Case ''Baby Case'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Michael Ogborn. The show is based on the famous Lindbergh baby kidnapping, commonly known as the "Crime of the Century". The musical, which had its world premiere at the Arden Theatre Comp ...

", Menderes was accused of adultery with Aydan and killing the baby she gave birth to. She confessed her love by saying, "I love this man and he told me that my baby died during childbirth". The "Baby Case" is the only case that resulted in acquittal in 13 cases. In the case of discretionary funds, it was understood that Adnan Menderes paid Ayhan Aydan's ex-wife at certain intervals. Menderes, the tenth Turkish Prime Minister, was executed by hanging by the coup soldiers. Aydan's son died in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

at the age of 18, poisoned by air. She did not comment on newspapers and magazines until the end of her life. She died on 19 February 2009 at noon in

district of Izmir.Ayhan Aydan öldü
Hürriyet Newspaper, 19 April 2009

References

{{authority control 1924 births 2009 deaths Musicians from İzmir Turkish Muslims Hacettepe University alumni State Artists of Turkey Adnan Menderes 20th-century Turkish women opera singers