Gilgamesh
Music by Ahmet Adnan Saygun · libretto by Münir Hayri Egeli
Gılgameş (Op. 65) is an opera in three acts and twelve scenes composed by Ahmed Adnan Saygun to a Turkish-language libretto by Münir Hayri Egeli. The opera, based on the Epic of Gilgamesh was composed from 1964 to 1983, but premiered in an early version in 1970. The work had its origins in an opera of the same name by Nevit Kodallı with a libretto by Orhan Asena which was premiered in Ankara in 1964, but Saygun and his librettist were commissioned to rewrite both music and libretto.
Text from the Wikipedia article "Gilgamesh (Saygun opera)", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
About the Composer
Ahmed Adnan Saygun (Turkish pronunciation: [ahˈmet adˈnan sajˈɡun]; 7 September 1907 – 6 January 1991) was a Turkish composer and musicologist. One of a group of composers known as the Turkish Five who pioneered western classical music in Turkey, his works show a mastery of Western musical practice, while also incorporating traditional Turkish folk songs and culture. When alluding to folk elements he tends to spotlight one note of the scale and weave a melody around it, based on a Turkish mode. His extensive output includes five symphonies, five operas, two piano concertos, concertos for violin, viola and cello, and a wide range of chamber and choral works. The Times called him "the grand…
Text from the Wikipedia article "Ahmet Adnan Saygun", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.