The Ministry of Culture & Tourism has announced the programme for the 19th Aspendos Opera & Ballet Festival to be held in this summer 2012.

In previous years the programme has been available during May at the earliest, and sometimes even later than that.

However, this year there is a significant change to the timing, so maybe that has made them get organised early.

The Festival begins as usual in late June and continues to early July; then there will be a further four performances in September.

The programme is:

14 June – the opera Turandot performed by Izmir State Opera & Ballet Company.

20 June – the opera Rigoletto performed by the Estonia National Opera.

25 June – the opera Prince Igor performed by Ekaterinburg State Opera & Ballet Company.

27 June – the ballet Love & Death performed by Ekaterinburg State Opera & Ballet Company.

30 June – the opera La Traviata performed by the Daegu Opera from South Korea with the Antalya State Opera chorus and orchestra.

4 July – the ballet Zorba performed by Mersin-Samsun State Opera and Ballet Companies.

3 September – the opera Madam Butterfly performed by the Beijing Opera from China.

6 September – the opera Lucia di Lammermoor performed by Antalya State Opera & Ballet Company.

10 September – the ballet Swan Lake performed by Turkish State Opera & Ballet Companies.

15 September – the opera Tannhauser performed by Ankara State Opera & Ballet.

Performances begin at 9pm except in September when they start at 8.30pm.

We intend to go to at least one performance this summer, and would encourage readers to also make the effort for an unforgettable experience.