Stravolo also appeared on stage together with his family. Among the operas performed in Beyoglu there were even some actually created in Turkey. Their composers were mostly Italians who had lived in the country for generations, who were also responsible for the libretti. Two operas however had Turkish libretti. One of these was ‘Giselda’, music by Lombardi, libretto by Tondi, which was first performed at the Naum Theatre in Beyoglu in 1850. The second was ‘L’Assedio de Silistra’ (The Siege of Silistra), composed by Giacomo Panizza, which tells the story of the Russian siege of the Turkish fort at Silistra in northern Bulgaria in 1854 and the heroic resistance of the Turks. Staged at the large Naum Theatre in 1855, its libretto was written by none other than Gabriel Naum, a relative of the theatre’s owner.

ATATURK: PIONEER OF THE NATIONAL OPERA
But we must wait for Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic, before we can speak of a national opera in Turkey.