Troy (opera)

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Troy
Opera by Bujor Hoinic
LibrettistArtun Hoinic
LanguageTurkish
Based onThe Iliad by Homer
Premiere
9 November 2018 (2018-11-09)
ATO Congresium, Ankara, Turkey

Troy (Turkish: Troya) is an opera in two acts by Bujor Hoinic set to a Turkish-language libretto by Artun Hoinic, based on the ancient Greek epic poem Iliad by Homer. It premiered in Ankara, Turkey, in 2018 and was restaged at Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia, in 2019.

Contents

Overview

Troy was composed by Bujor Hoinic, the Romanian chief conductor of the Turkish State Opera and Ballet. [1] [2] The libretto was written by Artun Hoinic. [3] It is the first Turkish opera written and composed by foreigners. [1] [4] Based on the 8th-century BC Greek epic poem Iliad by Homer, the opera was completed in May 2018 after three-and-half months' work. [1] The eight scenes of the two-act opera handle the war and life at Troy (modern Hisarlik, northwestern Turkey). To Hoinic "it blends an ancient civilization with modern music, where ancient modes, secret makams and Anatolian rhythms are used, too". The premiere took place at ATO Congresium in Ankara, Turkey, performed by Ankara State Opera and Ballet on 9 November 2018. [3] [4] The opera was commissioned by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism as part of the "2018 Tourism Year of Troy" in Turkey, declared in connection with the 20th anniversary of Troy's entry into the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. [1]

On 8 April 2019, Troy was staged at Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, for the opening of the "2019 Russia–Turkey Cultural Year". [5]

Roles

Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 9 November 2018
Conductor: Bujor Hoinic [1] [3] [6]
Homer, ancient Greek author of the Iliad actor Mustafa Kurt [1]
Agamemnon, King of Mycenae bass Şafak Güç [7]
Priam, King of Troy baritone Zafer Erdaş [8]
Helen, Queen of Sparta soprano Seda Ayazlı [9]
Paris, Prince of Troy tenor Murat Karahan [1]
Hector, Trojan prince and the greatest fighter for Troy ballerino Tan Sağtürk [10]
Menelaus, King of Mycenaean (pre-Dorian) SpartaactorMert Türkoğlu
Chorus and dancers

Synopsis

Act 1

Scene 1: The palace of King Menelaus in Sparta

Menelaus, the king of Sparta, invites all the Greek kings and princes of Troy, Paris and Hector, to the wedding of Thetis and Peleus in Sparta. During the celebrations following the wedding, Paris is attracted to Queen Helen the Beautiful, the wife of Menelaus. She responds to Paris' feelings. [11]

Scene 2: The temple of goddess Artemis in Aulis

Menelaus understands that Paris has kidnapped Helen. He asks his brother Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae, for help. Agamemnon gathers all the Greek kings and heroes in the temple. He accuses Troy of treason, and demands the Trojan to account. He orders the Greek heroes Achilles, Odysseus and Ajax to be ready for a war with Troy. His aim is to attack Troy as soon as possible, invade this country and avenge his brother. He consults Priest Chalcas for future telling. The priest advises him to make a sacrifice to the goddess Artemis for a victory. Agamemnon's daughter, the young princess Ephigenia is brought to the alter accompanied by rituals. [11]

Scene 3: Trojan palace. The sun shines on Troy

Paris and Hector return to Troy with Helen, and they meet King Priam. The Trojans are in panic, and Helen is worried of a war due to her kidnapping. Witnessing the love between Paris and Helen, Priam declares that Helen is now a Trojan princess. He asserts to the nobles and the people that the walls of Troy can never be crossed in case of a war. [11]

Scene 4: Outside the walls of Troy. Dark clouds are on Troy

Agamemnon and his heroes appear with the army of Sparta before the walls of Troy. Priam, the Trojan princes and the nobles, in front of the Trojan army, move out of the walls. As both kings, Agamemnon and Priam, can not reach a peaceful solution, the Greek army starts an attack while the Trojan army, led by Hector, goes into defense after Priam is secured. When the war begins, the two heroes, Hector and Achilles, come face to face in a duel, which ends with Achilles killing Hector. The Greek army attacks Troy, however, cannot cross the strong Trojan walls. [11]

Act 2

Scene 5: The square inside the castle of Troy

Hector's body is brought to a square inside the castle for cremation in front of the gathered Trojan folk. His father Priam puts two gold coins on Hector's eyes to let him easily travel to the "land of the dead" before the corpse is set to burn. Helen is sad and tries to escape to prevent a war. Paris persuades her to stay saying that Agamemnon's real intention is to invade Troy, even if Helen would go back. [11]

Scene 6: Greek army camp outside of Troy walls

After preparations, the Greek army attacks Troy. A blood bath takes place, but the Trojan army creates an indispensable defense. The Greeks experience a great defeat. Also Greek hero Ajax and some soldiers are captured by Troy. Priam and his soldiers chase the Greek army fleeing to their ships. [11]

Scene 7: The great square in front of King Priam's palace in Troy

Priam appears with Paris and Helen before the gathered people and announces their great victory. Ajax and other Greek prisoners of war are brought to the square. The people want to lynch the prisoners. However, Priam forgives them and sets them free. Paris learns that the Greek army left a gigantic wooden horse structure outside the city. It is taken inside the walls as a sign of victory although the nobles recommend its burning. The celebrations around the horse structure continue until the late hours of the night. [11]

Scene 8: Midnight at the big square of Troy

After the Trojan soldiers and the people fall asleep following the day-long celebrations, Achilles, Odysseus and the myrmidons come out of the horse. They open the city gates for the hidden Greek army after the guards are made ineffective. The city suddenly turns into a battlefield and Trojans are slaughtered one by one, and Troy burns in flames. Paris spots Achilles and shoots an arrow for the revenge of Hector. The arrow hits Achilles' tendon in his leg leaving him vulnerable. A second arrow hits Achilles in the chest. He removes it but dies. During the massacre, Agamemnon kills Priam brutally while Paris, Helen and a few remaining nobles flee from Troy for their lives. [11]

Related Research Articles

Agamemnon Figure from Greek mythology

In Greek mythology, Agamemnon was a king of Mycenae, the son, or grandson, of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra and the father of Iphigenia, Electra or Laodike (Λαοδίκη), Orestes and Chrysothemis. Legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area. When Menelaus's wife, Helen, was taken to Troy by Paris, Agamemnon commanded the united Greek armed forces in the ensuing Trojan War.

Hector Greek mythological hero

In Greek mythology and Roman mythology, Hector was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy in the Trojan War. He acted as leader of the Trojans and their allies in the defence of Troy, killing countless Greek warriors. He was ultimately killed by Achilles.

Trojan War Greek mythological war

In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has been narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably Homer's Iliad. The core of the Iliad describes a period of four days and two nights in the tenth year of the decade-long siege of Troy; the Odyssey describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the war's heroes. Other parts of the war are described in a cycle of epic poems, which have survived through fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid.

Menelaus King of Sparta, husband of Helen of Troy

In Greek mythology, Menelaus was a king of Mycenaean (pre-Dorian) Sparta. According to the Iliad, Menelaus was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the Spartan contingent of the Greek army, under his elder brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae. Prominent in both the Iliad and Odyssey, Menelaus was also popular in Greek vase painting and Greek tragedy, the latter more as a hero of the Trojan War than as a member of the doomed House of Atreus.

Paris (mythology) Son of Priam, king of Troy

Paris, also known as Alexander, the son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, appears in a number of Greek legends.

Helen of Troy Daughter of Zeus in Greek Mythology

In Greek mythology, Helen of Troy, Helen, Helena,, also known as beautiful Helen, Helen of Argos, or Helen of Sparta, was said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believed to have been the daughter of Zeus and Leda, and was the sister of Clytemnestra, Castor and Pollux, Philonoe, Phoebe and Timandra. She was married to King Menelaus of Sparta "who became by her the father of Hermione, and, according to others, of Nicostratus also."

In Greek mythology, Deiphobus was a son of Priam and Hecuba. He was a prince of Troy, and the greatest of Priam's sons after Hector and Paris. Deiphobus killed four men of fame in the Trojan War.

<i>Troy</i> (film) 2004 film directed by Wolfgang Petersen

Troy is a 2004 epic historical war film directed by Wolfgang Petersen and written by David Benioff. Produced by units in Malta, Mexico and Britain's Shepperton Studios, the film features an ensemble cast led by Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, and Orlando Bloom. It is loosely based on Homer's Iliad in its narration of the entire story of the decade-long Trojan War—condensed into little more than a couple of weeks, rather than just the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon in the ninth year. Achilles leads his Myrmidons along with the rest of the Greek army invading the historical city of Troy, defended by Hector's Trojan army. The end of the film is not taken from the Iliad, but rather from Quintus Smyrnaeus's Posthomerica as the Iliad concludes with Hector's death and funeral.

Talthybius

Talthybius was herald and friend to Agamemnon in the Trojan War.

Hermione (mythology) Mythological daughter of Menelaus and Helen of Troy

In Greek mythology, Hermione was the daughter of Menelaus, king of Sparta, and his wife, Helen of Troy. Prior to the Trojan War, Hermione had been betrothed by Tyndareus, her grandfather, to her cousin Orestes, son of her uncle, Agamemnon; she was just nine years old when Paris, son of the Trojan king Priam, arrived to abduct her mother, Helen.

Paris is a rock musical written by Australian rock musician Jon English and David Mackay between 1987 and 1990, based on the myth of the Trojan War. A concept album was released in Australia in 1990 with the first stage production taking place in Sydney in 2003.

<i>Helen of Troy</i> (film) 1956 film directed by Robert Wise

Helen of Troy is a 1956 Warner Bros. WarnerColor epic film in CinemaScope, based on Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. It was directed by Robert Wise, from a screenplay by Hugh Gray and John Twist, adapted by Hugh Gray and N. Richard Nash. The music score was by Max Steiner and the cinematography by Harry Stradling Sr.

<i>Helen of Troy</i> (miniseries)

Helen of Troy is a 2003 British-American television miniseries based upon Homer's story of the Trojan War, as recounted in the epic poem, Iliad. This TV miniseries also shares the name with a 1956 movie starring Stanley Baker. It stars Sienna Guillory as Helen, Matthew Marsden as Paris, Rufus Sewell as Agamemnon, James Callis as Menelaus, John Rhys-Davies as Priam, Maryam d'Abo as Hecuba, as well as Stellan Skarsgård as Theseus. The series was entirely shot on location in the islands of Malta.

King Priam is an opera by Michael Tippett, to his own libretto. The story is based on Homer's Iliad, except the birth and childhood of Paris, which are taken from the Fabulae of Hyginus.

<i>Posthomerica</i> Epic poem by Quintus of Smyrna

The Posthomerica is an epic poem in Greek hexameter verse by Quintus of Smyrna. Probably written in the latter half of the 4th century AD, it tells the story of the Trojan War, between the death of Hector and the fall of Ilium.

Cassandra (novel)

Cassandra is a 1983 novel by the German author Christa Wolf. It has since been translated into a number of languages. Swiss composer Michael Jarrell has adapted the novel for speaker and instrumental ensemble, and his piece has been performed frequently.

<i>Iliad</i> Epic poem attributed to Homer

The Iliad is an ancient Greek epic poem in dactylic hexameter, traditionally attributed to Homer. Usually considered to have been written down circa the 8th century BC, the Iliad is among the oldest extant works of Western literature, along with the Odyssey, another epic poem attributed to Homer which tells of Odysseus's experiences after the events of the Iliad. In the modern vulgate, the Iliad contains 15,693 lines, divided into 24 books; it is written in Homeric Greek, a literary amalgam of Ionic Greek and other dialects. It is usually grouped in the Epic Cycle.

<i>The Fury of Achilles</i> 1962 Italian film

L'ira di Achille, internationally released as The Fury of Achilles, is a 1962 Italian historical drama set in the ninth year of the Trojan War and is based primarily on Homer's Iliad. The film was directed by Marino Girolami and starred Gordon Mitchell as Achilles.

<i>Troilus and Cressida</i> play by William Shakespeare

Troilus and Cressida is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1602.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Artist In Troy: The First Turkish Opera Which Is Troy Written By The Foreign Composer". 2018 The Year of Troy Çanakkale. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  2. ↑ "Murat Karahan named new director of Turkey's State Opera and Ballet". Hürriyet Daily News . 3 January 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 O'Dwyer, Pınar Aydın (15 November 2018). "Mega Troya" (in Turkish). Sanattan Yansımalar. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  4. 1 2 "Troy, first Turkish opera by foreign composer". Hürriyet Daily News . 6 November 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  5. ↑ "Troy performed on Bolshoi stage". Hürriyet Daily News . 9 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  6. ↑ "Troy mix of stars on opera and ballet stage". Hürriyet Daily News . 15 October 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  7. ↑ Aksu, İsmail Hakkı. "Opera yıldızlarının İstanbul çıkartması" (in Turkish). Sanattan Yansımalar. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  8. ↑ "Zafer Erdaş baritone". Operabase . Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  9. ↑ "Seda Ayazlı soprano". Operabase . Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  10. ↑ "Tan Sağtürk". Turkish Cultural Foundation. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Troya" (in Turkish). Devlet Opera ve Balesi Genel Müdürlüğü. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
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