21.10.2025 14:22
The Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, shared the excitement of the new season at the Atatürk Cultural Center. This year, the AKM will bring together all the colors of art with its rich program, ranging from operas that have resonated worldwide to ballet, concerts, and exhibitions. The spirit of the Republic, classical music, and contemporary art will meet on the same stage.
The Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, shared the excitement of the new season of the Atatürk Cultural Center with the statements, "Last year, we brought together more than 2.5 million art lovers with 2,390 events at AKM. This year, our goal is to hold many more events at AKM, the cultural and artistic heart of Istanbul, and to make Turkey one of the universal centers of culture and art."
Throughout the season, all colors of art will come together on the AKM stages with operas, ballet performances, concerts, exhibitions, and discussions that have resonated worldwide. The new season, which brings together the enthusiasm of the Republic, the elegance of classical music, and the dynamism of contemporary art, will once again place AKM at the center of Turkey's cultural and artistic life.
The cultural and artistic heart of Istanbul, the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM), has welcomed the 2025-2026 art season. A program filled with world-renowned operas, ballet performances, concerts, exhibitions, and discussions awaits art lovers throughout the season. In addition to classical works that have resonated on world stages, special thematic concerts and performances will meet art enthusiasts at AKM.
The new season began with the "Denizbank Concerts Season Opening Concert" of the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra (İDSO). In the first concert of the season, the orchestra, conducted by Italian conductor Antonio Pirolli, took music lovers on a mesmerizing journey.
Throughout the season, İDSO will offer music feasts to art lovers with concerts conducted by various prominent conductors.
THE SPIRIT OF THE REPUBLIC AT AKM
In the new season, AKM will meet art lovers with a special repertoire that carries the spirit of the Republic throughout October. In the Cumhuriyet Bayramı Concert, which will be held on October 24 under the direction of conductor Hasan Niyazi Tura as part of the İDSO Denizbank Concerts, pianist Can Saraç, who has already adorned his career with many valuable awards despite being only eighteen years old, will interpret the Piano Concerto of Ulvi Cemal Erkin, one of the first composers of the Republic.
On October 31, İDSO will also bring the Turkish tango sounds of the Republic era to AKM. Accompanied by the orchestra conducted by Hakan Şensoy, soloists Ezgi Köker and Tevfik Rodos will perform works that pay tribute to Turkey's early tango composers.
The "Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra Cumhuriyet Bayramı AXA Turkey Concert," which will be held on October 26, will bring together the joy of the 102nd anniversary of our Republic with the unifying power of music.
The State Folk Dance Ensemble, under the General Directorate of Fine Arts, will also stage a representation titled "Towards Victory, the Republic is Born" on October 29 as part of the celebrations for the 102nd anniversary of our Republic at the AKM Theater Stage.
The TRT Istanbul Radio Jazz Orchestra will also perform a selected repertoire consisting of works by important composers in jazz history under the direction of conductor Cem Tuncer on Thursday, October 30, at 20:30 in the AKM Theater Hall. In this concert, where the classic big band tradition meets the colors of modern jazz, the orchestra will combine the energy of swing with the elegance of contemporary arrangements.
EXHIBITIONS OF THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS PAINTERS AT AKM
The exhibitions "Salvador Dalí: Masterpieces of Surrealism," "Henri Matisse: Towards the Simplification of Shapes," and "The Five Wonders of the Şakir Pasha Family," which were inaugurated at the Istanbul Culture Road Festival, will be on display at AKM until the end of the year.
The exhibition "Salvador Dalí: Masterpieces of Surrealism," opened at AKM Gallery, offers a journey into the depths of the imagination of Salvador Dalí, one of the most influential and extraordinary artists of the 20th century.
The exhibition "Henri Matisse: Towards the Simplification of Shapes," reflecting the creative world of Matisse, one of the pioneers of modern art, immerses art lovers in a different world at the AKM Multi-Purpose Hall.
The exhibition "The Five Wonders of the Şakir Pasha Family," which brings together the works of five important artists from one of the most influential families in Turkish art, meets art lovers at the AKM Music Platform. The exhibition sheds light on the development process of Turkish modern art, featuring works by Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı, known as Halikarnas Balıkçısı, who draws attention with the connection he established between literature and painting, Fahrelnissa Zeid, one of the pioneers of Turkish modern art, Aliye Berger, one of the pioneers of printmaking in Turkey, Nejad Melih Devrim, one of the most important representatives of Turkish abstract expressionism, and Füreya Koral, one of the pioneers of modern ceramic art.
CHAIKOVSKY'S IMMORTAL WORK "SWAN LAKE" ON THE AKM STAGE
"Swan Lake" is one of the most famous works in the classical ballet repertoire, composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It tells the story of Prince Siegfried's love for Princess Odette, who has been transformed into a swan by the evil sorcerer Rothbart, and the struggle to break the curse of this love.
The ballet was first staged in 1877 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow with choreography by Julius Reisinger. However, it achieved its true success in 1895 at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg with choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. This version still forms the basis of most productions today.
It was first staged in Turkey in 1965 in Ankara, and then in 1971 in Istanbul. The Istanbul State Opera and Ballet will restage the work in the 2025-2026 season with choreography by Ricardo Amarante.
ISTANBUL STATE OPERA AND BALLET BRINGS CLASSIC WORKS TO THE STAGE
The Istanbul State Opera and Ballet (İDOB) will present three powerful works of performing arts to the audience at the Atatürk Cultural Center in the 2025–2026 season. Each of these immortal works is prepared to enchant the audience with the pure essence of love, humanity's existential quest, and the aesthetic power of tragedy.
Puccini's opera "La Bohème" tells the story of a passionate love and a bohemian life woven with friendship in 19th century Paris, offering an emotional journey between the enthusiasm of youth and the inevitable realities of life. The characters brought to life by Puccini's unforgettable melodies both inspire hope and deeply affect the audience.
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Ahmed Adnan Saygun's opera "Gilgamesh" brings humanity's first written epic to the stage, addressing the desire for knowledge and existential inquiries with a mystical depth. This epic opera, blending the melodic essence of the East with the polyphony of the West, is staged with Caner Akın's innovative direction, offering a visually revolutionary interpretation on the Turkish opera stage.
Prokofiev's ballet "Romeo and Juliet" returns as a masterpiece that stands at the pinnacle of classical ballet. The work reinterprets Shakespeare's immortal tragedy through Prokofiev's powerful music and the original choreography prepared by Ricardo Amarante for the dancers of the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet, presenting a feast where love, hate, and sacrifice are narrated through a captivating dance language.
IDOB reminds the audience of the universal power of performing arts, its historical and emotional depths with these three works. The elegance of love, the philosophy of search, and the striking nature of tragedy come to life on stage through music, opera, and dance.
THE PASSION OF ART CONTINUES THIS SEASON AT ISTANBUL STATE THEATRE
The Istanbul State Theatre not only presents art on stage this season; it also addresses the conflicts within the individual's inner world, the quest for justice, and the fragility of the human spirit.
The play "Outside the Doors" tells the story of German soldier Beckmann, who is physically and mentally shattered after World War II, and his alienation from his own self and the changing society after the war and losses, depicting his state of being "outside all doors" in despair and loneliness.
"The Age of the Innocents, The Age of the Guilty" metaphorically addresses how in totalitarian regimes where the law does not function, crime randomly contaminates everyone and the concept of crime becomes arbitrarily corrupted. In the play, the distortion of justice and the individual's position under pressure is questioned through the scenario of an assassin trying to force his accomplices to confess while being locked in the same cell with innocent people, where no one can leave until a confession is made.
Both plays powerfully showcase the destructive effects of war and totalitarian oppression on the individual, with themes of crime, justice, alienation, and hopelessness.
ALL COLORS OF ART COME TOGETHER THIS SEASON AT AKM
Throughout the season, AKM will bring together all colors of art, from theater to opera, from folk music to specially themed concerts, alongside many classics. This season, AKM will continue to appeal to all areas of cultural and artistic life not only with performing arts but also with painting, photography, contemporary art, discussions, and children's workshops.
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