Ankara State ballet - Murad V

[Stirrups36]

I am potentially going to see the Ankara State Ballet premiere of Murad V on Thursday night.

 

Can anyone point me to some links as to what I could expect from this company? I have the links to the actual ballet itself, so know the story and such like.

 

Of course, it may never come off, but who knows. Adds some extra excitement to a business trip.

 

thanks

[Ian Macmillan]

There appear to be some Company clips on YouTube, eg:

 

 

If you go, I hope it's enjoyable.

[Stirrups36]

Murad V was a really enjoyable evening. If you want to read more, take a look at the Ankara State Balletwebsite - there is an English version. It is based on the life of a Sultan who reigned for less than 100 days before being declared insane and spenidng his life in confinement. During his confinement, he wrote huge amounts of music, and the ballet is based on the music of Sultan Murad the Fifth.

 

Whilst not the most technical of ballets, it was danced well, with particular praise for Diana and Appollo (Arzu Kiran and Oliver Spence). The two main male leads - for it is a very male ballet in the mould of a less dark and adult Mayerling - of Murad V (Cankat Ozer) and his alter ego 'Fictitious' Murad V (Burak Kayihan) had a great speed of turn as did Sanem Erguler as one of the Sultans wives. Pirouettes and fouettes (apologies for my less than correct use of terminology) were a well used aspect of the production.

 

I think I counted at least 8 scene changes, it could have been more - and the set design and lighting were sumptuous given what is evidently a limited budget.The website has some super photos that give an idea of the sets. The Garden of Çırağan Palace was especially atmospheric, photos 26 and 27. The Uncle's boat scene also was very well done. I imagine the scene changers were glad of a rest at the end of the performance.

 

I count myself very lucky that I was able to get a ticket to a premiere at such late notice. If you happen to be in Ankara when a performance is on, then it is well worth a look. Finally, my ticket - to a premiers, in the balcony but with a super view, excellent sightlines and easily able to hear the full orchestration - cost just £4

Edited May 4, 2012 by Stirrups36

[alison]

Thanks for that, Stirrups - looks good. It's always good to hear about things going on elsewhere in the world.

[aileen]

Stirrups, it sounds as if you had a very enjoyable evening's entertainment. Out of curiosity, where is Oliver Spence from and where did he train?

[Belljul]

Thanks for that. Lovely to read about a company I know nothing about. Sounds like a wonderful evening, and all for just £4!!!

[tomuchtallent]

I saw the company last summer at Aspendos theatre in Turkey.This is a ancient roman city.The theatre is open air and very big.They danced swan lake and it was beautiful.My dds violin teacher was playing that night.Fantastic when you watch and listen to the music and then look up into the night full of stars on a lovely warm evening.

Edited May 7, 2012 by tomuchtallent

[Sim]

Oooo that sounds so lovely and romantic! Thank you for telling us about this experience, and Stirrups, thanks so much for your information on the performance. This for me is one of the joys of modern technology; that we can learn about companies that we might never even have heard of. I watched Ian's clip above of their performance of Zorba the Greek and really enjoyed it. Great to see a Turkish company doing a Greek story! The two lead men are very good, too! Please keep your reviews coming when you can; we really appreciate hearing about companies who don't necessarily get much exposure outside their own countries.