Sultan Abdülhamid was a Fan of Opera
I don't believe that the majority of people considered conservative in Turkey are concerned with preserving the old culture. They don't defend Itri's music, Sinan's architecture, or Baki's poetry, nor do they enjoy this aesthetic level. They have grown up within a distorted understanding of modernization that emerged as a result of an unplanned migration of at least fifty million people to the cities. They have embraced not the songs of Şevki Bey or the folk songs of Karacaoğlan, but rather arabesque music; not Mimar Kemalettin, but unauthorized buildings with iron sprouts on top and versifications with no literary value whatsoever. Looking at the matter from this perspective, we must say that we are the true conservatives in the realm of culture. Those who claim to be conservatives are in a misguided interpretation. This same incorrect interpretation also applies to the exaggerated image of Sultan Abdülhamid II that they have been promoting in recent years, which has no connection whatsoever to the image of Abdülhamid who would hang and execute people, raid places, and slap envoys on TRT screens.Engaged in a passionate love affair with a Belgian girl named Flora Cordier, who played the piano, brought her clothes from Paris, and shared a stormy romance, spoke French albeit not as fluently as his brother Murad, drank rum instead of raki, and projected a Westernized appearance with his lifestyle, the Sultan's love for opera is well known, and it's already known that he even had an opera performed in his palace. When he was a 24-year-old prince, he accompanied his uncle Abdulaziz on a European journey, and after seeing Paris and London, he expressed his sadness over the widening gap between us and the West. He sent money to Pasteur for his newly established laboratory, established the Bakteriyolojihane-i Şahane center in Istanbul with the help of the French during the epidemic, attempted to familiarize the people with Western clocks by erecting clock towers in various cities, was a fan of Sherlock Holmes, and enjoyed listening to Johann Strauss's composition dedicated to his birthday.
Despite his caliphate policy used against major powers aiming to dismantle the Ottoman Empire, in his private life, he embraced a European style like his father, his uncle who composed waltzes, and his brother. He imported four Steinway pianos from Paris for his children. In short, he was a sultan who maintained an authoritarian regime suppressing opposition while also admiring the European lifestyle. Adding to all this, it's worth mentioning that he ordered Colt pistols in Native American attire through American ambassador Terrel, just to make the picture even clearer. Since he ordered them from America, he must have tried them at least once or twice.
He was someone who both said "ancestors" every day and viewed opera and ballet as decadence. With the desire that those who view his life this way should also read the relevant section from the book "On the Back of the Tiger," I would like to share it with you.
Italian Opera Singers at the Palace
In that beautiful palace, which had now become a dream, the Sultan, who would have novels read to him behind a screen placed at the foot of his bed every night, would sometimes have sleepless nights and would clap his hands, saying only "opera." This single word would signal that the Italian artists, both men and women, who had been bestowed titles like pasha, major, colonel, had only half an hour to prepare and get on stage. At the head of the palace theater was Arturo Stravolo, who was a mimic master from Naples, who had migrated to Istanbul with his father, mother, actress wife, brothers, uncles, aunts, and had entered the service of the Sultan.
Since the Sultan didn't want repetitions of the same plays, one of Stravolo's duties was to watch new plays in Europe and stage them in the palace. All the actors were attached to a military unit and had to wear the uniform corresponding to their ranks. Angelo was a lieutenant, violinist Luigi was a captain, baritone Gaetano was a colonel, and highly skilled tenor Nicola wore the uniform of a sergeant. Orchestra conductor Aranda Pasha had to start performing the requested piece of music within half an hour of receiving the "Masked Ball" order in the middle of the night. Some days, the Sultan would watch the plays with his family and guests, but at night, he would sit alone in his box. If there was a part in the play that he didn't understand or didn't like, he would signal with his hand to stop everyone. In order for the performance to continue, every detail had to be explained to his majesty.
Moreover, since the Sultan didn't like tragic endings, the conclusions of every opera, from La Traviata to Il Trovatore, would be altered to create happy endings. For example, at the end of La Traviata, Violetta wouldn't die but would dance happily.
The most beloved actor for the Sultan to watch was Arturo's beautiful wife, Cecilia. He wanted to see her in the lead role in every play, but due to biological reasons, this was often not possible. Therefore, the troupe had to resort to disguises, using wigs and makeup to make another actress resemble Cecilia, and dimming the lights. Cecilia frequently became pregnant, and since her growing belly didn't suit the young girl roles she played, she wouldn't perform until after giving birth. Nevertheless, all this effort was worth it in the end. The Italian actors were living luxuriously on high salaries, and the troupe's director, Arturo, was rewarded with privileges such as being the owner of the first car in Istanbul. As the guardian of Islam in Anatolia, the caliph was an admirer of European culture. He would say that Turkish music was only drum and zurna, and that although it was called "alaturka," this music had its origins in Persia and Greece. He was a great lover of opera. However, due to his contradictory nature, he would sometimes become bored in the middle of a performance. Stravolo, realizing that the Sultan was bored, would immediately interrupt the play and bring out various performers such as jugglers, magicians, acrobats to entertain him.
https://gazeteoksijen.com/yazarlar/zulfu-livaneli/abdulhamid-bir-opera-hayraniydi-187072
