Turkish Post-Migrant “Opera” in Europe: A Socio-Historical Perspective on Aurality

Central to the argument in this chapter is how music works as the point of access to and the vehicle of social history in post-migrant opera performances, negotiating issues, among others, of cultural memory, tradition and the experience of modern subjectivity as constitutive of the post-migrant identity in the 21st century. Through the adaptation of ‘traditional’ music theatre conventions such as those of opera, with its specific history in Western Europe, these performances are also produced for local audience members with the help of more institutionalised music theatre ensembles and opera production houses. Therefore, the historical contextualisation of this new trend needs to encompass a hybrid group of listeners in the auditorium. The present chapter looks at two productions: Lege Wieg / Boş Beşik, produced by Korean composer Seung-Ah Oh and Dutch director Cilia Hogerzeil in the Netherlands, and Tango Türk, produced by Turkish composer Sinem Altan and Dutch director Lotte De Beer in Germany. Through a conceptual analysis of these productions, the chapter demonstrates how music theatre responds to and helps to shape this invisible space of aurality in relation to its hybrid audiences.