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Tekfen Philharmonic’s
unforgettable Opera Gala concert at the
45th Istanbul Music Festival
Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, Tekfen Philharmonic Orchestra gave an Opera Gala concert on June 18, featuring
popular arias and duets in its programme for the Istanbulite audience. Tekfen Philharmonic accompanied soprano Pumeza
Matshikiza, one of the “exciting” new voices today, and the “golden voiced” tenor İlker Arcayürek.
Tekfen Philharmonic gave a magnifi-
cent Opera Gala concert as part of the
45th Istanbul Music Festival. Conducted
by Aziz Shokhakimov, the orchestra ac-
companied the South African lyrical so-
prano Pumeza Matshikiza and Vienna-
based Turkish tenor İlker Arcayürek.
Opera fans showed great interest in the
gala, with many prominent artists and
business people among them.
At the end of the rich and colourful
programme, which included popular arias
and duets from
L’Elisir d’Amore
,
La
Bohème
,
La Traviata
,
Mefistofele
,
Porgy and
Bess
,
La Wally
, and orchestral works by
Verdi, Tchaikovksy, and Saint-Saëns, the
audience called the orchestra and the so-
loists back to the stage three times. The
surprise of the concert was “Pata, Pata,”
the African song Pumeza Matshikiza sang
in Xhosa, her native tongue as well as
Nelson Mandela’s.
PUMEZAMATSHIKIZA
İLKER ARCAYÜREK