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Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival is an extremely popular festival in Turkey. It is organized by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture from June 10th to July 22nd. Aspendos is around 45 kms away from Antalya airport. You can easily reach Aspendos by taking a flight from the airport at Antalya. There are several flights to Antalya, international as well as domestic.

The best part about the festival is that it is organized at a 2000 year old venue thats in the form of an ancient theater located in Aspendos. Aspendos falls to the east of Antalya. The famous theater brings a great amount of excitement among the audience as well as the participants. The acoustic of the Amphitheatre is quite extraordinary and the concerts become something to remember throughout your life. The theatre can accommodate 20,000 people at a time however, recently the number of spectators have been limited to as less as 2,500 only.

Every year 4000 to 6000 spectators on an average attend every performance forming part of the festival. 70 percent out of them are foreign visitors. Mr. Rengim Gokmen is the General Director of the State Opera and Ballet and he explains that ballet and opera are the indicators of modernity. He also says that Opera touches the deepest of peoples perceptions. Societies that are involved in opera are the developed ones. The State Opera and Ballet will perform all over the country in a span of 2 years. Moreover, the Mersin State Opera and Ballet will conduct performances in 12 cities spanning southeastern and eastern part of Turkey.

The ancient Aspendos Theater is extremely special. It is great good fortune to have an amphitheatre to perform in, considering how long it has been preserved for. Towards this end the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has decided to allow acoustic events only. The year 2010 celebrated the 60th anniversary of the State Opera and Ballet in the month of June and July. The festival was held in Aspendos amphitheatre as usual and continued from June 10th to July 3rd. The attitude of people of the country including the leaders is of preserving the cultural heritage for the next generations to see.

The festival definitely contributes to the countrys international presence. Antalyas natural beauty and the serene atmosphere compliment the uniqueness of the theatre. It also helps cross the boundaries of race, language and religion. The festival this time included Orffs Carmina Burana, Puccinis Tosca and Verdis Aida. Several renowned companies such as Antalyas State Opera and Ballet Company and Istanbuls State Opera and Ballet Company participated in the festival with great pride and joy. Italian tenor Giuseppe Palmieri and the soprano Adina Aaron from the United States also graced the occasion with their performances.