If you missed the world premiere July 1st of the Barbarossa Project at the Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival and again missed the dance performances July 15th and July 16th, you can still see the Istanbul 2010 performance at 8th Bodrum Ballet Festival in Bodrum, Turkey on August 14th. If you didn’t make it to any of these shows, this modern dance performance will again return to Istanbul in late September.
Focusing on the symbiotic relationship between man and water, the Barbarossa Project is a modern dance and musical production of the life of Kaptan-ı Derya, the Fleet Admiral of the Ottoman Navy and the Mediterranean sailors of the 16th century. The music is by Mercan Dede, choreographed by Beyhan Murphy, also Director of Theatre and Performing Arts of the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency. Beyhan Murphy is also responsible for the design. Ballet dancers and soloists from Istanbul, Antalya, Ankara, Samsun, Mersin,and Izmir state ballet companies are featured in this production.
One of the favorite characters of Turkish history, Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha or also known as Hızır Reis, he was a half Turkish, half Greek, Ottoman admiral who was a privateer and master of the Mediterranean seas. This dance musical drama is exciting, dynamic and should not be missed if you are a lover of dance. The performance is breathtaking.
The final performance of the Barbarossa Project will occur just prior to the anniversary of the navy Battle of Preveza of 1538, in which Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha was victorious over Emperor Charles V’s Genoese Admiral Andrea Doria on September 26th, 2010, in Istanbul. Exciting moments for dance in Istanbul.
The Barbarossa
Photos courtesy of Istanbul2010.org.
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