GREAT TURKISH ARTIST SACRIFICES EVERYTHING FOR LOVE

Semiha Berksoy, a Turkish opera singer who earned global acclaim and was also a painter, actress and lover of poet Nâzım Hikmet, is being commemorated by her family on her 100th birthday with a new exhibition.

With the opening of private museums in Turkey in recent years, works by the world’s leading artists have increasingly come to Istanbul. Although the museums shy away from releasing the exact figures, it is well-known that astronomical amounts are paid to bring these pieces to Turkey.

While displaying Berksoy’s works presents no financial hardships, finding a suitable location for the exhibition proved incredibly difficult.

During the preparations for the “Ben Yaşardım Aşk ve Sanatla” (I Used to Live With Love and Art) exhibition that is presenting Berksoy’s art at the Yapı Kredi Culture Center in Galatasaray, the artist’s daughter, Zeliha Berksoy, spoke to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review and complained that her mother’s memory was not being respected in Turkey.

“This exhibition is a rebellion against what’s going on. My mother left a priceless treasure behind her but nobody is taking care of it. She was under suspicion because of her love for Nâzım Hikmet. She was against the system. I lost her five years ago. I have been struggling since then with the resources available to the Semiha Berksoy Foundation, which I have founded to keep my mother’s memory alive,” she said.

Hikmet was a famous Turkish poet with communist sympathies who spent many years in jail in Turkey. He eventually died in Soviet exile in 1963, having been stripped of his Turkish citizenship.

Turkey has been unable to accept Nâzım and Berksoy

Noting that she had big problems with the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency, Berksoy said: “My mother’s biggest dream was to have a museum to display her works but she did not have a chance to see it while she was alive. I proposed the museum project to the agency, requested a building from Beyoğlu Municipality and applied to the Culture Ministry for support. But all my efforts have been in vain.”

The exhibition curator and close friend of the artist Melih Güneş said it was hard to understand what was happening in Turkey. “Unfortunately, Turkey cannot accept artists like Berksoy and Nâzım Hikmet. As a society, we are not used to having values like them.”

Officials from the agency confirmed they had received an application for the project: “The project was approved for its cultural content and the Semiha Berksoy Foundation officials were told that the museum should have a venue. The foundation, however, did not propose us a place. This is why the project was not realized.”

Political barrier against love for Hikmet

Berksoy was born in 1910 and took opera education at the Berlin State Academy. She became the first female Turkish artist to appear on European stage in reprising the role of Ariande in Richard Straus’ “Ariadne auf Naxos” in 1939. She was also well-known throughout the world for her roles in “Tosca” and “Madam Butterfly.”

Shortly before her death in 2004, Berksoy performed Robert Wilson’s “The Days Before: Death, Destruction and Detroit III” at New York’s Lincoln Center. It was her last role on stage before she died at the age of 94.

“Semiha lived a full life,” said Güneş. “She was a brave and courageous woman, who never bowed down to anything. Even though she knew she would lose everything, she never hesitated defending Nâzım. She loved her Nâzım with an endless love.”

Noting that second Turkish President İsmet İnönü had told her mother, “You must have a leading role in reviving Turkish opera,” Zeliha Berksoy said: “My mother refused state power. Right after İnönü’s proposal, she went to see Nâzım while he was imprisoned at Çankırı Prison. She never hesitated endangering her career for the things she believed in. Her love for Nâzım contradicted the state. She was under suspicion.”

‘I was a fish in an aquarium’

Berksoy said she had followed the life of her mother, and said her childhood had been like a fish in an aquarium. “My biggest fear was that something would happen to my mother because she lived a prisoner’s life at the Ankara State Opera. Her life was under threat. She escaped so many dangerous situations at the last minute. I was full of fear of losing her. It is still hard for me to remember and accept these things.”

A previous exhibition titled “Bellek Odası” (Memory Room), which traced Berksoy’s life and was displayed in Paris, Munich and Venice, has also been included in the present exhibition, which will remain open until March 21.

With the show, museum patrons can see nearly 100 paintings for the first time.

Güneş concluded, saying: “Just like Semiha, I wanted the exhibition to be full of life and a colorful one that makes people cheerful. Visitors will see a very energetic exhibition as they enter the hall.”

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