Semiha Berksoy (1910 – August 15, 2004) was one of the first Turkish opera singers, the prima donna of the Turkish opera, a painter, and an internationally acclaimed artist.
She was born in Çengelköy, Istanbul, Turkey in 1910. She studied painting at the Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts. She studied singing at the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory.
Berksoy started her acting career the role of Semiha in the first Turkish sound movie İstanbul Sokakları...
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Semiha Berksoy (1910 – August 15, 2004) was one of the first Turkish opera singers, the prima donna of the Turkish opera, a painter, and an internationally acclaimed artist.
She was born in Çengelköy, Istanbul, Turkey in 1910. She studied painting at the Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts. She studied singing at the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory.
Berksoy started her acting career the role of Semiha in the first Turkish sound movie İstanbul Sokaklarında directed by Muhsin Ertuğrul in 1931. She was cast in operettas in Istanbul theaters early in her career. She sang in the first Turkish opera Özsoy in 1934 (commissioned by Kemal Atatürk, composed by Adnan Saygun). She was honoured as the First Turkish Opera Singer and awarded with the opportunity to go to Berlin Music Academy for further training. She started her international singing career in 1934, performing in Turkey, Germany and Portugal, becoming known as a Wagnerian soprano. In 1939, for the 75th birthday of Richard Strauss in...
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