A Musical Feast on the Fazıl Say Stage

Students receiving musical theater training under the direction of Haldun Dormen, General Artistic Director of the Ekoldrama Art House, took the audience on a special journey into the magical world of musicals at an evening held at Bahçeşehir University.

 

At the evening organized by BUART, a "Salute to Musicals" was given with the great master Haldun Dormen. At the evening held in the Bahçeşehir University Fazıl Say Hall, guests had the opportunity to hear live performances of many important musical songs from the 1800s to the present day, accompanied on piano by Istanbul City Theaters Orchestra Conductor Hakan Elbir.

 

Inspired by the popular work "Oliver Twist" by the great 19th-century novelist Charles Dickens and adapted into a musical by English composer and songwriter Lionel Bart, "Oliver" was the first piece of the evening. Next came the musical of the same name adapted from the great classic novel "Les Misérables" by legendary French writer Victor Hugo, which has become one of the most popular musicals of recent years.

 

Various songs from the musical "Kantocu," written by Haldun Dormen and composed by Serpil Günseli, which has been staged in various cities of Türkiye and is still playing to full houses at the Ankara State Theater, were performed with a beautifully theatrical staging.

 

Finally, several pieces were sung together with the audience fromLüküs Hayat, written by Ekrem Reşit Rey and composed by Cemal Reşit Rey, which was first staged in 1933 and achieved great success with 63 performances in those years; later directed by Gencay Gürün and staged by Haldun Dormen at the Istanbul City Theaters, it broke all records by playing to full houses for 28 years and is still performed to standing ovations.