Troy, a Turkish blockbuster that combines ballet and opera, will meet with art lovers worldwide, first in Moscow and then in Berlin in April, according to a statement released by the State Opera and Ballet (DOB) on Tuesday.
One of the most important productions of the DOB in 2018, the opera will be staged at Moscow's famous Bolshoi Theater during the opening ceremony of "2019 Turkey-Russia Culture and Tourism Year" celebrations on April 8 with the attendance of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
DOB General Director Murat Karahan told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they have received many proposals to stage "Troy" abroad and they are evaluating them within the scope of a schedule.
He said "Troy" was one of the most exciting works of the season, having been staging three times already in a hall with a 3,000 people seating capacity with a full house, and tickets for the fourth staging on Feb. 6 were already sold out.
Stating that it was very valuable for them to perform the opera worldwide as it is a kind of unique opera in which opera and ballet go hand in hand, Karahan added: "We have blended together myths, legends and stories with a number of melodies born from our land. Troy is one of the first examples of this."
The opera which was performed by 300 people on stage, was prepared in 2018 after the year was declared as "The Year of Troy" by Turkey's Culture and Tourism Ministry to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Troy being added to UNESCO's World Heritage List – with activities organized around the world to honor the site's historical significance.
Located on the mounds of Hisarlık and overlooking the Turkish Aegean coastal plain, the 4,000-year-old ancient city of Troy is one of the most famous archeological sites in the world.
The city was long thought to be purely mythical, until the groundbreaking work of Heinrich Schliemann, who began uncovering the site in the 1870s.
The historic setting of the Greek Trojan War, in which Spartan and Achaean warriors from Greece besieged the city in 13th century B.C., was immortalized by Greek poet Homer in his epic poem Iliad.