He came, he sang, he conquered
The impressive performances of the 25 participants who competed in this year's Siemens Opera Contest Turkey definitely didn’t make it easy for the high-caliber jury to crown a winner. But in the end, baritone Uğur Atasoy stood out clearly with his performance of Rodrigo Aria from Verdi’s Don Carlo, showcasing a masterful technique and a mesmerizing stage presence. From the moment he hit his first note, he grabbed everyone’s attention. In fact, Uğur Atasoy seemed to have no problem filling the room with his voice. It was a well-deserved victory at the 21st Siemens Opera Contest Turkey.
Uğur Atasoy – a talent to look out for
Uğur Atasoy was born in Ankara in 1991. While still at high school, he came second in the “Best Performer” category of the Inter-High School Music Contest organized throughout Turkey by the Hürriyet newspaper.
He entered Haliç University Conservatory, Opera and Concert Singing department in 2013. He took to the stage at the Oper Im Berg Festival both in Salzburg, Austria and Munich, Germany when he was only a junior and performed in La Traviata, I Puritani, and The Magic Flute operas.
He won second prize in the 22nd International Istanbul Baroque Festival’s singing competition in 2016. He was a soloist at the Young Talents concert of Istanbul State Opera in 2018 and performed Count Almaviva of Le nozze di Figaro by Mozart.
Early 2019 he was invited to the Opera Studio of I’Opera National de Paris, one of the biggest operas of Europe. He successfully completed his voice training with vocal coaches baritone Nejat Işık Belen and baritone Kevork Tavityan. He took style and interpretation lessons from Suat Arıkan, Head of Istanbul State Opera, and joined the masterclass program of Bass Baritone Burak Bilgili.
He is continuing his vocal trainings with Prof. Güzin Gürel.
Siemens Opera Contest Turkey 2019
For three days, young talented singers from all around the country gathered at the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) to compete in Turkey’s only nationwide opera contest.
Their aim was to showcase their talent, gain valuable experience and win one of the attractive prizes, which include a scholarship at Karlsruhe Opera and Salzburg Mozarteum, as well as exciting performance opportunities all over Europe.
Despite the outstanding renditions of all singers (including first- and second-placed soprano Sedef İlayda Büyükyörük and baritone Ramazan Karaoğlanoğlu, as well as Siemens Opera Contest Honorable Mention mezzo-soprano Melis Günerli), 28-year-old Uğur Atasoy from Istanbul won over the jury.
Its members included Yekta Kara (opera director), Peter Spuhler (Baden State Theater Karlsruhe), Andrea Raabe (University of Music and Performing Arts Karlsruhe) and Stephan Frucht (Siemens Arts Program). Beaming and – as always – very expressive, Uğur Atasoy accepted the award at the Prize Gala handed over by Hüseyin Gelis, CEO Siemens Turkey, whose regional company initiated the competition together with the Siemens Arts Program.
The great interest in foreign-language songs brought Beren Fidan to the opera.
At the age of 19 she began her studies as an opera singer. In 2018 she won the Siemens Opera Contest in Turkey. In the same year she completed her studies as top and high honour student at the Dilek Sabancı State Conservatory. Since 2017 she has been working with the soloist of the Ankara State Opera, Görkem Ezgi Yildirim.
In August, Beren Fidan was given the opportunity to present excerpts from the international opera repertoire at the Bürgerfest of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Bellevue Castle.
The Siemens Arts Program will follow Beren Beren's career with great interest.
The freedom of the arts and sciences is one of the cornerstones of democratic societies. As an innovative company committed to progress and innovation, we consider it our natural duty to protect and nurture this freedom.Prof. Dr. Stephan Frucht, Senior Vice President Culture and Sponsoring
A lab of ideas for creativity and change
Arts and culture are a vital driving force for exploring identity, creativity and self-reflection. The Siemens Arts Program builds bridges between disciplines, enabling the company to discover new ways of thinking through new experiences. As a creative department within Siemens AG, we see our role as that of mediator between the worlds of art and business. In an open and impartial way, we engage with future challenges from an artistic and cultural perspective so that we can actively shape transformation and change in line with our corporate values.
The Siemens Arts Program does this by creating innovative projects with prominent individuals and institutions from the arts and culture scene. The aim is to encourage collaboration - both personal and thematic, involving creative actors, artistic excellence, and innovative institutions - with our company. The opportunity to participate in the creative process is a key criterion for project selection and management in the Siemens Arts Program. Our aim here is to unleash a powerful inspirational force. Our projects also have a broad relevance and serve as a model within the company.
In a nutshell
In 1987, Siemens AG launched the “Siemens Kulturprogramm” (Siemens Cultural Program) with the aim of developing a specific cultural program for the company. Starting from internal cultural activities, it developed into a well-known and versatile international program for the promotion of contemporary art and culture in the early 1990s. This company-owned cultural institution implemented initiatives on its own initiative in addition to traditional sponsoring. In 2015, the Siemens Arts Program was relaunched under the artistic direction of Prof. Dr. Stephan Frucht.
The Team
Prof. Dr. Stephan Frucht
Artistic Director Siemens Arts Program
Senior Vice President Culture and Sponsoring
Anke Bobel
Project Management
Andrea Clarén
Project Management
Katia Ernst
Trainee
Martina Heindler
Project Management
Katrin Jahn
Trainee
Julia Ripke
Working Student
Rebeca Williams
Organization & Projects
Press Contact:
Konstanze Somborn
Yashar Azad
The Siemens Arts Program has a delivery role and does not consider applications for funding from third parties. Engagement with arts and culture is expressed through its own projects and interdisciplinary partnerships. Starting a corporate collection in the conventional sense is not a stated aim of the Siemens Arts Program.
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Siemens Arts Program
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