Legend of Troy comes to life at Antalya's Aspendos

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Based on one of the core myths of Western civilization and a focal point of world literature, 'Troya' (Legend of Troy) was staged for the first time in its homeland Anatolia. Performed by Fire of Anatolia, a Turkish dance group, the show has played to full houses every performance since it premiered in Istanbul April 8 Betül Çal Antalya – Turkish Daily News

A new staging of Homer's rendering of the legend of Troy, one of the core myths in the history of civilization, made its debut in Antalya at the Aspendos Arena, near the Aspendos Antique Theatre, in the city's Side district. After three years of hard work, �Troya� (The Legend of Troy) was performed by a group of 120 professional dancers from the dance group Fire of Anatolia.

�The Legend of Troy is to be staged at the Aspendos Arena with a real interpretation spreading from the mainland into the whole world. Anatolia is our guide in this path,� said Mustafa Erdoğan, the general art director for the dance group.

�It is a historical responsibility for this heritage of humankind that belongs to us to manifest itself with our cultural codes. �Troya' has become one of the most valuable shows staged so far and will take its place in the world classics,� Erdoğan added.

Latest technology used

Premiering at the Istanbul Show Center in April, �Troya� attracted attention for the technical work used on the stage and for the world famous stars who created the musical accompaniment for the show.

Christopher Ash, who created the stage lighting for the musical �Chicago� came to Turkey to design the lightening for �Troya,� while the flying system on stage, the first of its kind in Turkey, was managed by Ted Moore, designer of the system for Circque du Soleil.

The songs for �Troya,� composed by Yücel Arzen, were performed by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, while the 80-person musical group for the show was accompanied by world-renowned virtuosos Gheorghe Zamfir, Civan Gasparyan and Vassilis Saleas. Another group of 70 expert Turkish musicians also contributed to the show with their distinctive performances.

Every performance playing to a full house

�Performed by 120 professional dancers who have been working on the show for three years, Troya will have its (Antalya) premiere at the Aspendos Arena on July 18. The show has been performed in Istanbul as of April playing full house at every performance�, said media and public relations manager for Fire of Anatolia, Özlem İşler.

�We did not expect the first performance in Antalya to attract such high attention,� noted İşler, adding that the tickets were sold out one week ahead of the show.

Serdar Başbuğ designed over 2,000 costumes for the show, while Dr. Rüstem Aslan, who participated in the Troy excavations, provided historical consulting.

The Fire of Anatolia team, who did extensive historical research during the production of �Troya,� even used historically accurate instruments from the time.

Domestic and foreign tourists, in addition to citizens of Antalya, have showed great interest to the premiere of �Troya� at the Aspendos Arena. The show will have two more performances on July 26 and 29. Inform