The number of people who attended opera, ballet and orchestra performances in Turkey increased in 2018 year-on-year, while the number of attending at choral and ensemble recitals dropped slightly, according to official figures released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) on Monday.

TurkStat said operas and ballets were performed in six cities in 2018 while six orchestras, 13 choirs and nine ensembles affiliated with the General Directorate of Fine Arts were active throughout the country.

Attendance at operas and ballets increased 4.2% in the 2017-2018 season from the 2016-2017 season, with 293,002 attendees. The variety of shows put on at ballet and opera halls increased 2% in the same period to 202, while the number of performances dropped 5.3% to 648, according to TurkStat.

Attendance at orchestra performances increased by 27.8% to 175,621, while the number of attendees at choral performances fell by 4.3% to 59,170.

The number of performances by orchestras increased by 14.9% in the 2017-2018 season from the previous year to 224. The number of choral performances decreased by 7.8%, and the number of ensembles decreased by 48.4% to 109,188.

In western Izmir province, the number of orchestral performances in the 2017-2018 season swelled by 108.4%, while in southern Antalya province, orchestral performances decreased by 17.8%.

The number of chorus audiences increased by 123% in Diyarbakır, 37.5% in Sivas and 28% in Elazığ among the 10 cities where choir shows were performed in the 2017-2018 season. In the same period, the cities where the number of audiences decreased most were İzmir with 83.8%, Istanbul with 27.2% and Ankara with 10.9%.

The number of shows by ensembles in the 2017-2018 season decreased by 18.2% compared to the 2016-2017 season and was 157. Ensemble audiences also decreased in five cities where shows were performed, apart from Izmir with a 7.6% increase and Edirne with a 4.9% increase.

The number of audiences decreased by 58% in Istanbul, 49.2% in Ankara and 47.5% in Konya.

The number of employees involved in opera and ballet performances during the 2017-2018 season decreased slightly by 0.3% compared to the previous season.

The number of artists who performed in operas and ballets organized by the Opera and Ballet General Directorate was 2,491, including guest performers, during the 2017-2018 season. TurkStat said 43.8% of these performers were women.

The General Directorate of Fine Arts' orchestra, choir and ensemble shows were performed by 1,372 musicians. TurkStat said 636 of these participated in choirs while 388 musicians performed in ensembles and 348 performed in orchestras. In orchestras, 42% of the musicians were women, while in choirs, the percentage of women was 38.2% and in ensembles, 26.5%.