The Naum Theatre, named after its owners Michel Naum and Joseph Naum of Levantine Catholic background,Vatan: "Paris’in Garnier’si neyse, İstanbul için de Naum Tiyatrosu oydu" by Buket Aşçı, 16 December 2010.
/ref> was a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

and

opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically fo ...

İstiklal Avenue İstiklal Avenue ( tr, İstiklal Caddesi; en, "Independence Avenue"), historically known as the Grand Avenue of Pera (Ottoman Turkish: ''Cadde-i Kebir''; el, Μεγάλη Οδός του Πέραν, Megali Odos tu Peran; french: Grande Rue de ...

in the Beyoğlu (formerly Pera) district of

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. It was opened in 1844 and remained active until the building was severely damaged by the Fire of Pera in 1870.History of the Çiçek Pasajı in Istanbul
The ruined theatre building was purchased by Ottoman Greek banker Hristaki Zoğrafos Efendi, who built the present-day

Çiçek Pasajı Çiçek Pasajı ( Turkish: ''Flower Passage''), originally called the Cité de Péra, is a famous historic passage (galleria or arcade) on İstiklal Avenue in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey. A covered arcade with rows of historic caf ...

on its land plot in 1876.

History

The Naum Theatre was originally built in 1839 as the ''Bosco Theatre'' by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

illusionist Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It ...

Bartolomeo Bosco Giovanni Bartolomeo Bosco (January 3, 1793 – March 7, 1863) was an Italian magician during the mid-19th century. He is best known for his adroitness with the famous cups and balls. When he was nineteen years old, he was drafted into Napole ...

, on a plot of land on İstiklal Avenue owned by the Naum family,. The original building was wooden and in Ottoman style. After Bosco left the city, ownership of the building passed to Michel and Joseph Naum, who, upon completing the renovation works, reopened it as the ''Théatre de Péra'' in 1844. The first play to be performed here was the opera ''

Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Astronomy *Norma (constellation) *555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral arm in the Milky Way galaxy Geography *Norma, Lazi ...

'' by

Vincenzo Bellini Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was a Sicilian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania". Many years later, in 1898, Gius ...

. After the original wooden building suffered fire damage in 1846, a new theatre was constructed. It opened on 4 November 1848 with ''Macbeth'' by Giuseppe Verdi. In 1849 it was renamed the ''Théatre Italien Naum''. The theatre was frequently visited by Sultans Abdülaziz and

Abdülhamid II Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...

, and hosted Giuseppe Verdi's opera ''

Il Trovatore ''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mos ...

'' before the opera houses of Paris. The majority of the operas that were performed at the Naum Theatre were composed by Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti and

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards ...

. In a letter to his mother,

Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flauber ...

wrote that he watched an opera by Donizetti at the Naum Theatre the day after his arrival in Istanbul (then Constantinople). Michel and Joseph Naum held the sole right to stage many European plays and operas in Istanbul, and brought many foreign

troupe Troupe may refer to: General * Comedy troupe, a group of comedians *Dance troupe, a group of dancers ** Fire troupe, a group of fire dancers * Troupe system, a method of playing role-playing games * Theatrical troupe, a group of theatrical perform ...

s to the city. They also printed the first Ottoman Turkish translations of many operas as booklets. Apart from the usual evening performances, they also organised daytime versions for audiences coming from the Asian side of the Bosphorus.

Çiçek Pasajı

After the Fire of Pera on 5 June 1870, the ruined theatre was purchased by Ottoman Greek banker Hristaki Zoğrafos Efendi, and Ottoman Greek architect Kleanthis Zannos designed the current

building, which was constructed in 1876 on the same site.

References

External links

Emre Aracı: "''Naum Tiyatrosu – 19.Yüzyıl İstanbul’unun İtalyan Operası''". Yapı Kredi Yayınları, Istanbul, 2010.

Vatan: "Paris’in Garnier’si neyse, İstanbul için de Naum Tiyatrosu oydu" by Buket Aşçı, 16 December 2010.Oynakbeyi.com: Naum Tiyatrosu
{{authority control Theatres in Istanbul Opera houses in Turkey Music venues in Istanbul Beyoğlu Theatres completed in 1844 Former theatres in Turkey Theatre in the Ottoman Empire Music venues completed in 1844 19th-century architecture in Turkey

History

Çiçek Pasajı

See also

References

External links