Sureyya Opera House

The Opera House

The Sureyya Opera house has been a part of Istanbul for close enough to a decade, and so it is a historical site which still serves a great purpose even today. Sureyya Opera House, which is also known as Sureyya Cultural Center, clearly speaks for itself when it comes to what it has to offer. Culture. Life. Entertainment. These are just some of the words that could be of great description when it comes to the well-loved and cherished opera house. The opera house was designed by an Armenian architect Kegam Kavafyan. It was named after a Deputy of Istanbul who also gave order for the construction of this building, Sureyya Ilmen. The opera house was originally constructed in 1927 as the first ever musical theatre located on the Anatolian part of Istanbul. It currently operates as an opera and ballet theatre and also a concert hall. This is home to all art fans that have an eye for creativity. The hall can sit about 570 people at a time. Originally designed for the use of opera shows, no operettas actually performed at the opera house due to lack of certain facilities. Under such circumstances, the building was then converted and began to be used as a movie theatre from 1930 until 2005. This was rather perfect timing as this was when tension was building up towards the Second World War from 1939-1945, and so the theatre became a famous spot to hang out for the young people then and also promote propaganda. The building was then reconstructed between 2005 and 2007 in order for it to be reopened as an opera house once again, with the exception of concerts as well.

As the building began to be constructed in 1924, Sureyya Pasha had the goal and intention of establishing a building that would meet the need of a venue that would showcase cultural and social events that would bring communities together. Sureyya had done a lot of travelling in Europe, and due to the fact that opera was the most famous cultural event and most popular music genre for performances, he adapted the idea for an opera hall after seeing other glamorous and classy theatres that were found all over Europe. The original interior of the opera house was based on German architecture, and the architectural design of the entire building were inspired by the Champs- Elysees Theatre in Paris. Paris was of great inspiration in building the Sureyya Opera House because Paris had become the central cultural city and home to all forms of entertainment which was being developed in the 20^th Century. The hall was built over a period of 3 years as it was completed in 1927.

Sureyya Opera House is located in the Asian part of Istanbul, the hall was the first of its kind to be opened in this area with the sole intention of promoting and showcasing art. By the time it was fully established, it was the 6^th cultural hall in the whole of Istanbul. Interestingly, not a single opera performance was showcased at the hall during the first three years after the hall was opened to the public. Theatre plays were the ones that were showcased more and kept the hall in use. After the installation of technical equipment that would allow the screening of sound films, the hall was then known as Sureyya Cinema, which was appropriate considering that the hall became popular for showing films regularly. The hall had multiple functions as the second floor was used as a wedding hall for a number of years. The same hall space was later used as an apparel workshop for theatrical and musical developments.