Leyla Gencer, one of the most important sopranos of the 20th century, will be commemorated at Kadıköy Süreyya Opera today to commemorate the 11th anniversary of her death.
Gencer, known as "La Diva Turca," "La Gencer" and "La Regina" in the West, was listened to by people in Milano, Roma, Napoli, Venice, Vienna, Paris, San Francisco, Köln, Buenos Aires, London, Rio de Janeiro, Bilbao and Chicago.
The soprano of "Lucia," "Norma," "Lady Macbeth," "Queen Elizabeth," "Floria Tosca," "Lucrezia," "Madam Butterfly," "Alceste," "Aida," "Violetta" and "Leonora," Gencer evoked admiration on prominent opera stages and recitals. Her opera repertoire comprised of 72 pieces by 23 composers.
Zdravko Lazarov will conduct the concert that will feature Istanbul State Opera and Ballet (İDOB) soloists, Suat Arıkan, Perihan Artan, Hakan Aysev, Evren Ekşi, Murat Güney, Nesrin Gönüldağ, Efe Kışlalı, Bülent Külekçi, Oleksandr Samoylenko, Cengiz Sayın, Hale Soner and Nazlı Deniz Süren.
The concert will feature arias from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" and "The Magic Flute," Giuseppe Verdi's "Macbeth," "La Forza del Destino," "Aida" and "Otello," Jules Massenet's "Thais" and "Werther," Georges Bizet's "Carmen" and Giacomo Puccini's "Tosca."
Meanwhile, the İDOB will be on stage with the "Opera Gala" concert, where they will perform the same program at Zorlu Performing Arts Center (Zorlu PSM) on May 14.
