Istanbul State Opera Ballet reinterprets 'Giselle'

The Istanbul State Opera Ballet Modern Dance Theater (MDTIst) is celebrating its 7th anniversary with a reinterpretation of the classic ballet "Giselle." The new version of the ballet, "Jizel," is choreographed by Aysun Aslan. 

Aslan, who is a pioneer in popularizing modern dance by founding Turkey's first private dance troupe, returns to the stage after a long time away with this new ballet, adapting "Giselle" into a contemporary work of art. 
Characters in the original ballet such as Albrecht, Giselle, Hilarion and Myrtha have had their names changed to Alb, Jizel, Hila and Mirta in "Jizel."

The costume design of the new interpretation has been made by Ayşegül Alev, with stage design by Ferhat Karakaya, light design by Kerem Çetinel and visual design by Yaşar Saraçoğlu. The work made its premiere on April 5 at the Beşiktaş Municipality's Fulya Art Center. 

 "When we met in March, MDTIst Art Director Beyhan Murphy made this magnificent offer to me and I accepted it willingly," said Aslan. 

"I first asked Murphy to choose a work and she opted for 'Giselle.' This choice made me very happy because it is very important to me personally. I entered the conservatory at the age of eight and took the stage for the first time at 12 with this ballet. The main material of our school was 'Giselle,' everyone started and finished the school with this ballet. It is a very hard work but its dramatic structure is very nice and its music is magnificent. We had long talks with Murphy and ended up deciding to name it phonetically, so it became 'Jizel.' It is hard to change these classics but the play has been approved. I think it broke the classical expectations of the audience," she added.

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