Architecture in Opera and Ballet (2nd Edition)

YEM Yayın’s fifth book in the “Architecture and Nutritional Fields” series, Architecture in Opera and Ballet, has been published.

The book, edited by Nevnihal Erdoğan, Leyla Gafarova, and Hikmet Temel Akarsu, will expand the knowledge and horizons of all culture and art readers, especially designers, academics, and students.

In Architecture in Opera and Ballet, the relationship between music and architecture is explored through the most significant works of artists like Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, Bizet, Tchaikovsky, Puccini, Hacibeyov, and Karayev, such as The Nutcracker, La Traviata, The Barber of Seville, Aida, Carmen, Prince Igor, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty, which provide a backdrop to the art of architecture in opera and ballet. These works are examined through analyses prepared by accomplished music writers, theorists, architects, and academics.

It is recommended that the books in YEM Yayın’s “Architecture and Nutritional Fields” series, including Architecture in Literature, Architecture in Contemporary Literature, Architecture in Philosophy, and Architecture in Cinema, be read alongside this work, as they will be complementary and enrich the reader’s imaginative world.

Nevnihal Erdoğan, Leyla Gafarova, and Hikmet Temel Akarsu say the following about the book in the preface:

“The selection Architecture in Opera and Ballet constitutes the final link in the series and aims to develop architects’ abilities such as designing, drawing inspiration, enhancing creativity, and creating atmosphere by examining the interaction between classical music and architecture. This book in your hands is a multidisciplinary selection that will open doors to the design of impressive, striking, and inspiring spaces and atmospheres by utilizing architectural elements that lie behind disciplines such as 'opera' and 'ballet', which are forms of classical music reflected in the performing arts, stemming from the idea that architects should receive a thorough education in classical disciplines as an important part of their cultural, artistic, and spiritual development.

In the book Architecture in Opera and Ballet, the most significant works of classical opera and ballet that provide a backdrop to the art of architecture are discussed through analyses prepared by accomplished music writers and theorists, architect intellectuals, and academics in their respective fields; thus, an original and important resource that examines and researches the relationship between music and architecture is created. With this book, for the first time, the impact of classical performing arts such as opera and ballet on architecture is investigated as a component in terms of aesthetics, strikingness, artistry, and inspiration.

While preparing this book, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Leyla Gafarova from Kocaeli University Conservatory was included as a stakeholder in the project to healthily analyze and interpret the interaction between architecture and music disciplines; analyses and comments were also obtained from leading music intellectuals and academics in the country.

The book is divided into two parts, ‘Opera’ and ‘Ballet’, and when grouping works according to their categories, the periods to which the works belong are chronologically indicated at the beginning of the sections.

Our greatest wish is that the aesthetic, intellectual, artistic, and cultural sensitivity resulting from this work will be internalized by those who contribute to the art of architecture, and that it will bring about a transformation in our country's architectural face, which is increasingly being buried in concrete and losing its aesthetic. We believe that such works, which are of great importance for the 'evolution towards beauty' of architectural culture, art, and theories, will support a long-term improvement and development in architecture, which is the foremost of classical arts...”