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Ankara State Opera and Ballet will open its 2026-27 season Oct. 3 with Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro," launching a program that mixes classic European repertoire with Turkish compositions and a new modern dance production.
Director Demet Gokalp said the company ended last season with about 110,000 spectators and hopes to reach an even wider audience this year.
"We base our repertoire choices on our audience's expectations, our artists' development and support for Turkish composers," Gokalp said. She also said that the season was built around putting Turkish works on stage to encourage composers to write new pieces.
"Figaro," first staged in 1786, will premiere at the Opera Stage. The ballet "Coppelia," absent from the repertoire for a long time, will return.
The Turkish opera "Hekimoglu," with music by Tolga Tavis and a libretto by Bertan Rona, will be performed in Ankara on Dec. 12. Samsun State Opera and Ballet staged it earlier, but Gokalp said it will be a first for Ankara. "We value it very much," she said.
After the new year, the company will premiere the modern dance project "Alice in Wonderland," with a foreign choreographer. A new children's play, "Sekeronya," will replace "Baris Ormani."
Operas "La Boheme" and "Lucia di Lammermoor" continue from last season in a limited number of performances. The dance musical "Gangster" and the ballet "Harem," both popular in recent years, will also return.
To reach more people, the company will move "Carmen" and "The Nutcracker" to the larger Ataturk Arts Center. "Carmen" will also tour Denizli. Gokalp called the changes "big operations" made for the audience.
New Year's concerts will be held Dec. 30 at the Opera Stage and Jan. 4 at the Presidential Symphony Orchestra's CSO Ada Ankara.
Demet Gokalp said the company drew criticism last year when no such concert was held there. Friday concerts at the CSO Blue Hall will generally feature company soloists. Foyer concerts will be reduced as more performances are added, with Saturdays focused on matinee and evening shows.
Ticket sales will open a month ahead of performances, up from 15 days in past years. Gokalp urged audiences to buy early for limited-run shows. Asked to sum up the season in a phrase, she called it "very colorful."
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