İzmir State Opera and Ballet to open season with ‘Troy’

İZMİR

The İzmir State Opera and Ballet (İZDOB) will launch its 2025-2026 season with “Troy,” an opera inspired by Homer’s immortal epic.

According to a statement from İZDOB, the season premiere will take place on Sept. 27 at 8 p.m. at the Bornova Culture and Arts Center Necdet Aydın Stage. The production will also be staged on Sept. 30, Oct. 2 and Oct. 4.

Composed by Bujor Hoinic with a libretto by Artun Hoinic, the opera premiered in Ankara in 2018 and was later performed at the 2019 inauguration of the Bornova Culture and Arts Center by the Ankara State Opera and Ballet.

This season will mark the first time İZDOB artists bring “Troy” to the stage. The production combines epic staging with traces of Anatolian musical traditions and a dramatic narrative.

Conductors Bujor Hoinic and Tulio Gagliardo will lead the orchestra, while Recep Ayyılmaz directs the production. Choreography is by Volkan Ersoy, set design by Özgür Usta, costume design for the main characters by Atıl Kutoğlu and general costume design by Ayda Çınar. Lighting design is by Bülent Arslan, chorus master is Orhan Öner Özcan, and video projections are by Ahmet Şeren.

The performance will feature İZDOB’s orchestra, choir and ballet ensemble, with Kemal Tören as concertmaster.