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The Istanbul State Opera and Ballet (IDOB), based in Türkiye's largest city, will launch its 2026-2027 season on Sept. 19, its director and artistic director Caner Akgun announced. The season includes two operas, two ballets, two modern dance productions, and a children's ballet premiere, alongside concerts staged at the Ataturk Cultural Center (AKM) and the Kadikoy Municipality Sureyya Opera on Istanbul's Asian side.
The season opens with Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, conducted by Ibrahim Yazici, featuring the IDOB orchestra and choir. Turgay Erdener's ballet "Afife," developed with a concept by Beyhan Murphy, will also return to the stage, alongside the continuing production of "Lucia di Lammermoor."
In November, Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" will be staged as a ballet. Selman Ada's opera "Palto," inspired by Nikolai Gogol's "The Overcoat," will premiere at the Sureyya Opera. "Selman Ada will also conduct the premiere of his own work," Akgun said.
The season will also feature continuing productions of Turkish-composed works, including Ahmet Adnan Saygun's opera "Gilgamesh," which IDOB staged in its world premiere in a previous season, and "Edusa," an opera by Guldiyar Tanridagli, the first Turkish woman opera composer of the Republic era, with a libretto by Iskender Pala. The productions "Tehlikeli Oyun" (Dangerous Game) and "Deli Dumrul," both staged last season, will also return.
IDOB's ballet company will stage "The Nutcracker" in December at the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari in Italy, choreographed by Turkish choreographer Mehmet Balkan.
Other productions this season include Gounod's "Faust," performed in French with a modern dance interpretation, as well as continuing stagings of Verdi's "La Traviata" and "Falstaff."
"Giselle" will be staged in February, followed in March by George Balanchine's neoclassical choreography of Tchaikovsky's "Serenade," paired with Philip Glass's "Circle of Fifths" and Ulvi Cemal Erkin's "Kocekce."
The season closes in May 2027 with Giacomo Puccini's "Turandot," directed by Roberto Catalano and conducted by Ayyub Guliyev, music director of the Azerbaijan State Theatre.
The children's repertoire will continue with "Cinderella" and "The Little Prince," with auditions for a new children's choir scheduled for October. Choreographer Fernando Melo's "The Wind Tree" will open the Istanbul Theatre Festival, organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV), on Oct. 24-25, before joining IDOB's repertoire in January. The company's Modern Dance Company will continue performances of "Pinocchio," "Delirium" and "Dance Adrenaline."
Additional productions announced for the season include Mozart's "The Abduction from the Seraglio," Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman" and a Britten opera.
IDOB, founded in 1960, is targeting around 200,000 audience members this season, with previous productions reaching occupancy rates of up to 90%, according to Akgun.
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