A historic Istanbul building, finished in 1927 as an opera house but relegated to use as a movie theatre until 2005, has reopened as a 500-seat concert hall after a two-year renovation.
The Sureyya Opera House, which opened Friday and becomes the sixth opera house in the city, will host performances three nights a week by the Istanbul Opera and Ballet.
The building, constructed from 1924 to 1927, was designed by parliamentarian Sureyya Ilmen Pasa to serve as an opera house and theatre.
Ataturk, who founded modern Turkey with the creation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, was a great lover of opera and theatre and encouraged the building of cultural venues and training in opera and theatre arts.
The Sureyya Opera House has a foyer inspired by the Champs Elysées Theatre in Paris and interior based on German architecture.
However, the building never hosted operas, as the stage and dressing rooms were never finished, according to Turkish wire service Milliyet.
Until recently, the building has been operated as a cinema by Ilmen's grandsons.
Kadikoy Municipality, the cosmopolitan district of Istanbul that is home to the theatre, undertook a renovation two years ago.
"My friends and I witnessed history at every step of the project," Kadikoy Mayor Selami Ozturk told Milliyet. "We are honoured to make Sureyya Pasa's dream of an opera house come true, even 80 years later."
The Istanbul Opera and Ballet, run by Turkey's Ministry of Culture, also performs at the multi-purpose Ataturk Cultural Centre in Istanbul.
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