İSTANBUL STATE OPERA and BALLET MANAGER and ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Suat Arıkan graduated from the Ankara State Music Conservatory in Ankara,Turkey in 1981 with high honors with a degree in voice and opera. At the Ankara State Conservatory of Music he had studied voice with Cemil Sökmen and upon graduation he immediately began his career as a soloist at the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet. He has studied voice with Dan Iordacescu, Daniel Ferro, Leyla Gencer, and Licinio Montefusco. He has sung a wide repertoire of both concert music and opera from the 17th century to contemporary music both in Turkey and abroad.

1983: He won the second prize in the "International Voice Competition" sponsored by the "Istanbul State Conservatory of Music".

He won as the best Bass the " Mustafa Iktu" award.

He was awarded as the best interpreter of Turkish Classical works by the "Sevda &Cenap And Music Foundation".

1984: Treviso, Italy won in the "La Boheme"competition the "Rovigo Theater" honorary award.

1985: Cagliaria, Italy won third prize in the opera competition among the bass voice category.

1987: Treviso, Italy won first prize as the best ""Sparafucile" in the "Rigoletto" competition. Also performed this role in many cities in Italy.

1992: Successfully performed and won much critical press acclaim for his performance of "Leporello" in "Don Giovanni"in the "Nico Malan" Theater in Cape-Town, South Africa.

1993: With the "Turkish Culture Ministry" Scholarship in various cities in Italy, Germany and Holland performed concerts and continued his studies.

2000: Montepulciano, Italy in the "25th International Opera Festival" performed many times the leading role of "Selim" in Rossini's "Il Turco in Italia" and "Sarastro" in Mozart's " Die Zauberflöte".

2001-2002-2003: He was selected as a jury member for both Milan, Italy's " AS.LI.CO. International Voice Competition " and in Tiran, Albania's "Maria Kraja" International Voice Competition.

Suat Arıkan has also written various articles about music for opera magazines and newspapers and presented various radio programs. From November, 2002 until December, 2003 he was the General Artistic Director for the Mersin State Opera. Since December, 2003 he is the General Artistic Director of the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet. The performer who has been giving vocal lectures in Mimar Sinan University State Conservatory, has been honored as "knight" by Italian Government for his outstanding contributions to opera.

The Artist's Best Known Repertoire:
Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Macbeth, Turandot, Tosca, La Bohéme, Otello, Il Trovatore, Don Carlos, Aida, Nabucco, Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni{Don Giovanni and Leporello}, Mozart and Salieri, Maometto Secondo, Il Turco in Italia, IV. Murat, The Tales of Hoffmann, Magic Flute, Carmen, Evita, Mozart "Requiem", Verdi "Messa da Requiem" and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.