Mesude Çağlayan (1918 – 31 July 2011) was a Turkish operatic

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

Early life

Mesude was born in Edirne,

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, in 1918. She obtained her surname "Çağlayan" later. She studied opera at

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. Th ...

, and graduated in 1942.

Opera career

On 21 June 1940, the Ankara Halkevi ("Community Center of Ankara") staged its first opera, Mozart's one-act

singspiel A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk-like ...

Bastien und Bastienne ' (''Bastien and Bastienne''), K. 50 (revised in 1964 to K. 46b) is a one-act singspiel, a comic opera, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. ' was one of Mozart's earliest operas, written in 1768 when he was only twelve years old. It was allegedly commis ...

''. In the following performance that night, the second act of Puccini's ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

'', Çağlayan made her stage debut as "Cio-Cio-san" (Japanese for butterfly) or "Madama Butterfly". In 1942, she performed in the complete ''Madama Butterfly'', together with professionals who were educated in Europe. She was one of the pioneers of

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

. She then starred in many performances over a long time, including the title role in Smetana's '' The Bartered Bride'' in 1943, Mozart's ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

'' in 1944, Gilda in Verdi's '' Rigoletto'' in 1950, Menotti's ''

The Consul ''The Consul'' is an opera in three acts with music and libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti, his first full-length opera. Performance history Its first performance was on March 1, 1950 at the Schubert Theatre in Philadelphia with Patricia Neway as the ...

'' in 1952, and Bizet's ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' in 1957. On 9 June 1981, she retired from the Ankara State Opera, where she started her professional career on 1 July 1949.

Recognition

The Japanese Government honored Çağlayan by presenting her a tiny Madama Butterfly doll for her successful performance in the opera. The

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...

she wore in the performance and the baby doll have been on display in the upper lobby of the Ankara Opera building since 2008. In 2009, Minister of Culture and Tourism Ertuğrul Günay visited her in the nursing home where she lived, and presented her a gold medal award prepared on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the

Turkish State Opera and Ballet Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

and

Turkish State Theatres The Turkish State Theatres ( tr, Devlet Tiyatroları - DT) is the official directorate of the national theatre companies in Turkey. It is bound to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and financed by the state to promote performed arts and enhance t ...

for the artists who served for many years.

Death

Mesude Çağlayan died aged 93 in Ankara on 31 July 2011.

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caglayan, Mesude 1918 births People from Edirne Ankara State Conservatory alumni 20th-century Turkish women opera singers Turkish operatic sopranos 2011 deaths