Izmir's Efes Opera and Ballet Festival Opens June 26

Turkey’s 9th International Efes Opera and Ballet Festival will run from 26 June to 8 July in İzmir, staged at the ancient Efes Amphitheatre and the Bornova Culture and Arts Center. The opening performance features Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s "Swan Lake" under the choreography of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, presented by the İzmir State Opera and Ballet.

The programme includes Carl Orff’s cantata "Carmina Burana" on 30 June and 2 July, the "Zorba" ballet adapted from Nikos Kazancakis’s novel, and a closing production of Giacomo Puccini’s opera "Tosca" on 8 July starring Italian tenor Ivan Magri. A children’s musical, "Pamira and the August Bug," will be performed on 28 June at the Bornova venue.

The festival brings together five works performed by eight ensembles, with orchestra led by conductors Tolga Taviş, Vladimir Lungu and Roberto Gianola, and chorus directed by Orhan Öner Özcan and Başar Ünal.