Download GIUSEPPE VERDI AND HIS ART IN TURKEY FROM THE 1839

GIUSEPPE VERDI AND HIS ART IN TURKEY
FROM THE 1839 REFORMS TO THE PRESENT
Cevad Memduh Altar
(English text of the paper presented at the IV. International Congress of Verdi,
celebrated on 18 September 1974 in Chicago, organized by Instituto di Studi Verdiani
of Parma.)
The basic reasons for the “Reformation” movement (Tanzimat), which
had been initiated by the Ottoman State in 1839 in the form of political and social
reforms, were indicated in my summary article which is included in the booklet
of the Congres. this time I will pass directly to the subject and will submit the
results of my research on Giuseppe Verdi and his operas in Turkey.
The “Reformation” activities in the field of music in Turkey were based
on the transformation of the monodical system into the harmonical system, by
means of international knowledge and techniques of contemporary civilization,
and on furnishing world literature with musical works, which would be created
by the application of this technique on the sentiments fed by the national spirit.
Therefore, it would be necessary in the first place to introduce in Turkey these
kinds of works of western musical literature, and then to educate the Turkish
composers by giving them the instruction reqired by this new technique. Thus, it
was with this aim that a new movement was started in Turkey towards the end
of the first half of the 19th century; and all through this period the Italian opera,
more than anything else, served as a model, and the Italians showed the way to
the talented young Turks working with western musical technique.
It is very well known that in the 1th and 18th centuries some Italian
operas were performed in Turkey for some reason or other, although my
attemps to find out the titles of these operas have so far been unsuccessful. A
brief reference to this fact is available in some of the Ambassadors’ Memoirs and
foreigners’ diaries. However, the first cler example which I found on this subject
happens to be a Verdi opera, Ernani, which was performed in Turkey for the
first time in February 1846 by Italian artists.
It will be noted that the recent research I have made, after sending out the
summary of this communiqué, has enabled me to move back the date of the first
Verdi operas in Turkey for five years, and has proved that the first Verdi opera in
Turkey was not I masnadieri, performed by Italian artists in 1851, but Ernani,
performed in 1846. Therefore, it would not be wrong to say that further studies
of documents which may come to light in the future would place the first Verdi
operas in Turkey at an even earlier date.
The first performance dates of some of the Verdi operas within the 19th
century period of the Ottoman Empire would reveal a chronological view of the
subject, and a close examination of the characteristics of the period in the light of
this chronological background would make it possible for my audience to have a
clearer idea of it. Let us now study the chronological comparison of the very first
performances of some of the Verdi operas in the West and in Turkey:
Titles of the operas
in order of the
Date and place of the
first performance
first performance
in Turkey
in the West
Date of
first performance
in Istanbul
Ernani
Venice, 9 March 1844
1 February 1846
Nabucco
Milan, 9 March 1842
18 March 1846
Macbeth
Florence, 14 March 1847 4 October 1848
I Lombardi
Milan, 11 February 1843 December 1850
I masnadieri
London, 22 July 1847
18 October 1851
Il trovatore
Rome, 19 January 1853
13 November 1853
Rigoletto
Venice, 11 March 1851
14 February 1854
La traviata
Venice, 6 March 1853
27 November 1856
I vespri siciliani
Paris, 13 June 1855
January 1860
Un ballo in maschera Rome, 17 February 1858 18 October 1862
La forza del destino St. Petersburg, 10 Nov.1862 December 1876
Aida
Cairo, 24 December 1871 1 December 1885
Difference
between
the two
2 years
4 years
1,5 years
7 years
4 years
10 months
3 years
3 years
5 years
3 years
14 years
14 years
The first performances of the above-mentioned twelve operas of
Giuseppe Verdi among others in Turkey fall within a period of 39 years, which
may be divided into two separate parts of 1846-1862 and 1876-1885. The Italian
operas which appear in this 39-year period the the 19th century were performed
by Italian theatrical companies in three separate theatres called Bosko, Naum
and Gedik Pasha, the former two situated in the district of Pera, which was
largely inhabited by Europeans, and the latter constructed in the ancient part of
the city surrounded by the ramparts.
Due to the fact that the Naum Theatre was the victim of a second fire on
5 June 1870, and that the Ottoman Empire was undergoing some political crises
at that time, the above-mentioned opera activities were abandoned. Moreover,
musical activities and especially the opera were more or less at a standstill
during the 38-year period from 1885 to 1923. Political crises on one hand, and
various wars which started together with the 20th century1i on the other, hushed
the muses in Turkey for quite a long time (Inter arma silent musae!), and the
activities of lyrical-drama above all came to a complete sandstill, with the
exception of some limited performances. Thus the door which had been kept
open since the 17th century and which had let in quite a bright light until the
middle of the second half of the 19th century was definitely closed after 1885.
This door was reopened ony after our Independence War, preceded by the First
World War, with the establishment of the Republic and Atatürk reforms. It is
evident that the uneasiness caused by the wars during this 47-year period from
1876 to 1923 obstructed the development of the art of opera in Turkey.
Let us now return to this period of the opera in Turkey to take a brief look
at the chronological development of the first theatres founded with the help of
Italian artists and study the practices and repertory from the point of view of
Verdi’s art.
The lyrical-drama activities which fall within the period of the Ottoman
Empire and later the Turkish Republic started and developed in the following
three theatres:
A- Private theatres (Bosko, Naum and Gedik Pasha)
B- Court Theatre
C- State Operahouse (of the Turkish Republic)
The Naum Theatre, which was situated in the district called Pera and
which was burnt twice, is the first theatre where Verdi operas were performed,
and as I have already mentioned, the first performance of Ernani in Turkey took
place in this same theatre. An opera announcement, printed on a silk material
and discovered after a long research, contains three Verdi operas, among others,
and also gives the names of the Italian artists who performed them. This opera
company, which had been invited from Italy, was naturally accompanied by its
own chorus and conductor.
Another Verdi opera, Attila, which was first performed in Turkey in 1850
in the same theatre, was repeated in 1851.
The Naum Theatre attained even a greater importance in the 1851/52
season, for the Government had given Naum, because of his great success, the
privilege of running an opera, first for a period of 10 years and later for another
5 years. For this same season Naum invited an Italian company of 117 persons
including soloists, orchestra, managers and other personnel. It was again for the
same season that opera announcements were printed on silk materials to be
submitted to the Sultan and other important persons.
According to these accouncements, the first Italian opera to be performed
in the 1851/52 season was Verdi’s I masnadieri. The first performance of this
opera was made by the following Italian artists: Marietta Alberti, Adelaide
Minatti Ramoni, Caroline Budini, Giovanna Mnatti (or Miniati), Giuseppina
Buonamici, Giuseppine Montai Tito Palmieri, Giovanni Piccini, Carlo Bartologi
(?), Giacchino Ramoni, Giuseppe Broscoli, Gaetani Salani, and the conductor,
Gaetano Valabrano, the conductor of the chorus, Salvatore Botticelli, and the
theatre manager, Minolo Lanzoni.
According to a newspaper announcement, the first performance date of Il
Trovatore at the Naum Theatre is 13 November 1853. As the first performance
date of this opera in Rome is known to be 19 January 1853, it is very interesting
for us to note that the first world performance took place in Istanbul only ten
months after the first one, whereas the dates of its first performance in some big
cities are as follows: Paris 1854, Vienna 1854, London 1855, New York 1855,
Berlin 1857.
Another interesting fact about the 1853 Verdi performances in Istanbul is
that the opera devotees were very fond of two Italian artists called Donatelli and
Mario Celli, and were very much interested in their performances. Even the
Ottoman Sultan Abdulmecid attended the performance of Il Trovatore and later
paid his compliments to these artists.
In the 1856/57 season, the Italian operas performed in the Naum Theatre
were conducted by a famous Italian conductor, Luigi Arditi (1822-1903), who
was well-known for his song-dances. It has been impossible to find out for how
long Arditi worked in Turkey.
The 1864/65 season was an extremely important one for the Naum
Theatre from the point of view of Verdi operas, because it was during this season
that 17 opera artists, a chorus of 40 persons, a ballet group of 17 and an
orchestra of 35 members came to Istanbul from Italy and the first performance
of I vespri siciliani was done successfully in October 1864.
1865/66 season was as important as the previous one for the Naum
Theatre. During this season six Verdi operas were performed in the theatre
under the direction of an Italian maestro, Guatelli Pasha (1820-1899), who was
the court music teacher and the director of music at the Naum Teatre. Attila was
repeated and Rigoletto, Un ballo in maschera, Ernani, La traviata and
Nabucco were performed for the first time in Istanbul. It has been definitely
discovered that the first performances of Ernani and Un ballo in maschera were
made in January, La traviata in February and Nabucco in April of the year 1866.
1869/70 was the last important season for the Naum Theatre. Although
certain documents are available, proving that various operas were performed in
this theatre during the 1869/70 season, others which would show the titles of
these operas have so far been unavailable.
It was a pity that the Naum Theatre, which owed its existence to both
material and spiritual support of the Court and the Ottoman Government, was
burnt down for the second time on 5 June 1870 after a bright period of 25 years,
and the founder of the establishment, Michael Naum, did not attempt to run
another theatre after this disaster.
Michael Naum had firs started to run a theatre in 1841 in the district of
Galata in Istanbul, in a wooden building which belonged to a foreigner. The opera
performances, which he started later in 1844 in the district of Beyoglu in a
theatre taken over from Bosko, continued in this same theatre until it was burnt
down in 1846. He then had another theatre built of stone, which he ran until
1870. When a second fire destroyed this new theatre on 5 June 1870, Naum
stopped his activities; thus the opera culture of Istanbul, born and developed
under his direction, fell into a heavy sleep from which it could not awaken until
the establishment of the Republic and Atatürk reforms.
The reason why I went into detail about the Naum Theatre and neglected
the Bosko Teatre, which existed even before the Naum Theatre of the Pera
district, is that historical documents about the Bosko Theatre have so far been
unavailable. It is definitely known that many operas were performed also in this
theatre in the year 1840, but it has been impossible to find out the titles of these
operas.
Another theatre, founded in 1860 in the historical district of Gedik Pasha
in Istanbul, was run under the name of the “Ottoman Theatre” by an Italian
called Razi in the year 1866. Although I have come across some documents about
many opera performances in this theatre, which moved to a new building in
1867, I have unfortunately been unable to determine the titles of these operas.
The only information I have so far obtained on the Ottoman Theatre is that some
arias from Italian operas were included in the programs. It is mentioned in some
newspaper articles that some of the Il Trovatore arias were also among those
arias which were sung by local or foreign artists in performances organized in
the form of concerts.
According to some Italian documents, besides the above-mentioned three
private theatres, another private opera was opened in Istanbl in 1879 under the
name of “Verdi Theatre”, where Ernani was performed in the same year.
However, due to the unavailability of further information about the activities of
this theatre during the following years, I believe this opera was closed after a
very short period of time.
During the Ottoman era, traces of a rather primitive opera art also appear
in the musical activities in the Ottoman court, where musical education had
started during the reign of Mahmud II (1784-1839), known as the father of the
first reforms in Turkey, and developed to a great extent following the year 1828,
when the famous opera composer Gaetano Donizetti’s brother Giuseppe
Donizetti (1788-1856) was invited to Istanbul to be in charge of such activities
in the court.
Giuseppe Donizetti, who died in Istanbul in 1856 after working at the
court for a period of 28 years, founded the first harmonic military band of young
Turkish musicians whom he chose among the courtiers, and together with
maestros whom he invited from Italy he rendered great services in the
development of this band. A concert program of the Second Artillery Troop Band,
dated 1847, which I discovered in 1956 in the archives of the Topkapi Palace,
reveals all the happy results obtained thanks to Donizetti’s efforts during this
period of 19 years. Among the Italian, German and Turkish works of this
program are also included the following three pieces from Verdi operas: the
finale of Ernani, an aria from I Lombardi and a theme from Nabucco.
Another event, which I consider to be very interesting, is that one of the
well-known Italian conductors of that time, Angelo Mariani (1822-1873), was
also invited to the Ottoman court as conductor and teacher. Mariani, who had
volunteered to participate in the Italian Independence War of 1848, went to
Istanbul at the age of 27, and started working at the court, most probably having
been invited upon a suggestion of Donizetti, who was already quite an old man. I
believe Mariani to have gone back to Italy four years later in 1852, and these four
years must have had a positive effect on the opera activities of those years in
Istanbul.
In spite of the fact that the young Turkish musicians, who were educated
under the direction of Giuseppe Donizetti, worked on Italian operas, I have
never seen any document which would show that they performed an entire
Italian opera, with the exception of some documents which confirm that the
Ottoman Sultan Abdulmecid (1823-1861) asked Donizetti to organize some
opera performances. The Court Theatre, the construction of which seems to
have started in 1858 according to the plans of the Italian architect Fosatti during
Sultan Abdulmecid’s reign, was completed in 1859. Although it is known that a
large Italian company participated in the inauguration of this theatre on 8
January 1859, unfortunately I have not been able to find out which opera was
performed.
According to some documents, the opera performances made at the Court
Theatre by Italian artists came to a standstill; and although some years later
Sultan Abdulaziz (1830-1876) had the theatre reconstructed after being
completely burnt down, he was not interested in opera performances at all. After
the reigns of Sultan Aziz and Sultan Murat, it was Sultan Abdulhamit II (18421911) who was again interested in the Court Theatre; however, musical
activities or opera performances gradually died away within the walls of the
palace.
The special interest formerly attached to the opera could not be revived
during the last decades of the 19th century, and it was only after the foundation
of the Turkish Republic, following the Independence War, in 1923 by Mustafa
Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938) that Turkey returned to the art of opera. Thus, the
first State Opera in Turkey was founded in 1947 with the help of Turkish
musicians who were educated in the Ankara State Conservatory. Italian maestros
once more rendered great services, and Giuseppe Verdi’s works in particular
were put in the programs of the State Opera, which was founded by the famous
opera stage-manager Prof. Carl Ebert, who worked in Ankara during the period
of 1936-1945.
The Republican era opera activities, which started and developed with the
support of the State, created many talented Turkish opera artists, some of whom
attained great success on the stages of many important world operas including
La Scala. The Turkish opera during the Republican era has not only presented
western operas, but has also given birth to national Turkish operas. Today, at the
Turkish State Opera, which has celebrated its 27th anniversary, works chosen
from world opera literature, and particularly Italian operas, are being performed
with both Turkish and Italian librettos, sometimes by Turkish artists and
sometimes by both Turkish and famous Italian artists.
Our country, which has been successful in applying the knowledge and
technique of contemporary civilization in the field of music during the abovementioned 50-year period, has attached special interest to the great Italian
composer Giuseppe Verdi and has added 10 Turkish librettos of Verdi operas to
the national repertory. The titles of these operas and their first performance
dates in the a chronological order during the Republican era are as follows:
Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera
Rigoletto
La traviata
Il trovatore
Aida
Othello
Macbeth
La forza del destino
Don Carlos
1947, Ankara State Conservatory
2 November 1955, Ankara State Opera
1 October 1950, Ankara State Opera
18 April 1954, Ankara State Opera
6 February 1955, Ankara State Opera
20 March 1958, Ankara State Opera
12 March 1960, Ankara State Opera
14 April 1962, Ankara State Opera
2 March 1964, Ankara State Opera
1969, Istanbul State Opera
Out of the above-mentioned first performances of the Verdi operas during
this time, La forza del destino was performed in Italian on 21 March 1964 by
Turkish artists, with the participation of the Italian baritone Meliciani.
The program of the Ankara State Opera for the present season will be
ended with the performance of La Traviata.
I have tried to summarize, in a chronological order, the significance of the
works created by such a genius as Giuseppe Verdi from the point of view of
Turkey’s cultural efforts during the 19th century and the present Republic era. I
would like to express my appreciation and thanks to the Opera of Chicago and
the Instituto di Studi Verdiani for having given me this opportunity.
Sources:
-
Refik Ahmet Sevengil: Türk Tiyatrosu Tarihi II (History of the Turkish
Theatre)
Collections of the Takvim-i Vakayi newspaper
Collections of the Ceride-i Havadis newspaper
Mahmut Ragıp Gazimihal: Türkiye-Avrupa Musiki Münasebetleri (Musical
Relations Between Turkey and Europe)
Mahmut Ragıp Gazimihal; Türk Askerî Mızıkaları Tarihi (History of the
Turkish Military Bands)
Selim Nüzhet Gerçek: Dolmabahçe Sarayı Tiyatrosu (Dolmabahçe Palace
Theatre)
Selim Nüzhet Gerçek: Üç Naum Tiyatrosu (Three Naum Theatres)
Topkapı Sarayı archives
Private archives and collections
Instituto di Studi Verdiani archive (Parma)
Cevad Memduh Altar: Opera Tarihi (History of the Opera, Volumes I and II)
The Turkish-Russian War of 1877-78, Tripoli War of 1911-12, Balkan War of
1912-13, First World War of 1914-18 and the Independence War of 1921-23.
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