Süreyya Opera House, also called Süreyya Cultural Center ( tr, Süreyya Operası or Süreyya Kültür Merkezi), is an opera hall located at Gen. Asım Gündüz Avenue No: 29, in the Bahariye quarter of the

Kadıköy Kadıköy (), known in classical antiquity and during the Roman and Byzantine eras as Chalcedon ( gr, Χαλκηδών), is a large, populous, and cosmopolitan district in the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey, on the northern shore of the Sea o ...

district in

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 ...

. The building was designed by

Ottoman Armenian Armenians in the Ottoman Empire (or Ottoman Armenians) mostly belonged to either the Armenian Apostolic Church or the Armenian Catholic Church. They were part of the Armenian millet until the Tanzimat reforms in the nineteenth century equa ...

architect Kegham KavafyanCengiz Çandar
Ermeniler olmasaydı, İstanbul İstanbul olur muydu?
''Radikal'', December 10, 2010. by the order of a Deputy for Istanbul, Süreyya İlmen. It was originally established in 1927 as the first musical theatre on the

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

n part of Istanbul. However, due to the lack of appropriate facilities and equipment at the theatre, operettas weren't staged until 2007. The venue was rather used as a

movie theatre A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall (Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

until the building underwent a functional restoration and reopened as an

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 ...

on December 14, 2007.

History

Süreyya

Pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitar ...

( later Süreyya İlmen) started the construction of the building in 1924 to meet the need of a venue for cultural and social events, which was lacking in Kadıköy. He was impressed by the glamour of famous theatres in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

during his visits. The aesthetic and functional influences in the architectural design of the building are reflected in the foyer, an example of

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

inspired by the Champs-Elysées Theatre in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, and in the interior, which displays stylistical characteristics of German architecture. By the order of the Deputy of Istanbul, Süreyya İlmen, Kegham Kavafyan was appointed as the architect who would design the Süreyya Opera House, which was completed in 1927. Called the ''Süreyya Opereti'' ( en, Süreyya Operetta) and opened on March 6, 1927, the theatre was the first venue for opera in the Asian side of Istanbul and the sixth in the entire city. Since the stage of the musical theatre was not wholly completed and no artists' rooms were provided, operetta performances did not take place at all. Only

theatre play A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between characters and intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright. Plays are performed at a variety of levels, from ...

s were performed some days a week. In 1930, technical equipment needed to screen

sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

s were installed and henceforth the venue was renamed as ''Süreyya Sineması'' ( en, Süreyya Cinema). Hikmet Nâzım, father of the renowned poet

Nâzım Hikmet Mehmed Nâzım Ran (15 January 1902 – 3 June 1963), Note: 403 Forbidden error received 10 October 2022. commonly known as Nâzım Hikmet (), was a Turkish-Polish poet, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, director, and memoirist. He was ...

, was the movie theatre's first manager. The ballroom at the second floor served for many years as a wedding hall. It hosted the theater group ''Kadıköy Sahnesi'' (English: Kadıköy Stage) for five years starting from 1959. Later, the space was used as an apparel workshop. Süreyya İlmen donated the theatre in 1950 to '' Darüşşafaka Cemiyeti'', a

charitable organization A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ...

for the advancement of the education of orphan children in poverty, with the condition to receive the revenues during his or his wife's lifetime. He died in 1955 and his wife Adalet İlmen died in 1966. The cinema, taken over by the charity society, was then run first by their daughter and then by the grandsons of Süreyya İlmen. The audience hall of the Süreyya Cinema was renovated in 1996, and state of the art technical equipment were acquired in 2003. Also, the exterior of the building underwent a reconditioning in accordance with the original design. However, all these efforts and the investments made for modernization did not bring the expected result to increase the audience.

Redevelopment

By the beginning of 2006, Kadıköy Municipality under Mayor Selami Öztürk launched a

redevelopment Redevelopment is any new construction on a site that has pre-existing uses. It represents a process of land development uses to revitalize the physical, economic and social fabric of urban space. Description Variations on redevelopment include: ...

project after leasing the building in August 2005 from the Darüşşafaka Association for a term of 40 years. The restoration included the frescos at the ceiling and on the walls, and the sculptures on the facade. The construction works lasted almost two years and the cost amounted to around 14 million YTL (approx. $9m). Süreyya Opera House reopened on December 14, 2007 performing the

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

Yunus Emre Yunus Emre () also known as Derviş Yunus (Yunus the Dervish) (1238–1328) (Old Anatolian Turkish: يونس امره) was a Turkish folk poet and Islamic Sufi mystic who greatly influenced Turkish culture. His name, ''Yunus'', is the Muslim ...

'' (Opus 26) by

Ahmet Adnan Saygun Ahmet Adnan Saygun (; 7 September 1907 – 6 January 1991) was a Turkish composer, musicologist and writer on music. One of a group of composers known as the Turkish Five who pioneered western classical music in Turkey, his works show a master ...

. Thus, Süreyya Pasha's dream of an opera house came true after 80 years. The theatre stage has a width of 14 metres, depth of 10 metres and height of 4.90 metres, with an

orchestra pit An orchestra pit is the area in a theater (usually located in a lowered area in front of the stage) in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music (such as opera and ballet) or in cases when incide ...

added newly. There are 14 dressing rooms that were built without changing the architecture of the building. The audience capacity of the opera house is 570 seats. The ballroom on the second floor can accommodate 500 guests. The opera house is home to the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet.

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 ...

and

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

performances are staged three days a week at the venue. The venue also hosts events such as art exhibitions, festivities and celebrations like the

Republic Day Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics. List January 1 January in Slovak Republic The day of creation of Slovak republic. A national holiday since 1993. Officially cal ...

Ball.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sureyya Opera House Culture in Istanbul Opera houses in Turkey Music venues in Istanbul Theatres completed in 1927 Art Deco architecture in Turkey Theatres in Istanbul Redevelopment projects in Istanbul Kadıköy Music venues completed in 1927

History

Redevelopment

See also

References

External links