Opera singer and painter Suat Arıkan, pointing out the importance of art and love for him, said, "In the second act of the opera Tosca, he says 'vissi d'arte, vissi d'amore', meaning I lived for art and love. It describes me in the same way. After my years in Ankara, art and love have been at the center of my entire life."
Having performed many concerts and performances in Turkey and abroad, 68-year-old Arıkan has been deemed worthy of many awards in singing competitions throughout his artistic life, and has been on the jury of many singing competitions, especially in Italy.
The artist, who wrote columns in magazines on opera art and produced and presented various radio programs, also continued his work as a soloist. Suat Arıkan served as the director and artistic director of the Mersin State Opera and Ballet in the 2002-2003 season. He served as the director and artistic director of the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet in 2003-2005 and 2007-2022. The artist, who also taught vocal lessons at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul and Haliç Universities, was awarded the "Knight's Medal" by Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi in 2006 for his contributions to the art of opera.
I want to open an exhibition one day
Suat Arıkan explains his goals for the future as follows;
"While studying the history of Turkish painting, I came across the story of Group D. A group, of which my mother's very close relative was a member, decided to form Group D by holding meetings at Zeki Faik İzer's house. There were 4 of them. A, B, C, D and they said, 'There are 4 of us, let's name our group D'. So there is a sympathetic story behind its name. In fact, when it was said that Group D was established in this Yavuz Apartment in Cihangir, I later learned that it was established in this apartment. Most probably (Zeki Faik İzer) was living in the attic. When I learned this, I said, 'Let me make this a small gallery'. The first exhibition of Group D was also an exhibition of drawings on paper. I met with Zeki Faik İzer's daughter and the collectors. I wanted to take one or two drawings from each of them and remind them of Group D here. Unfortunately, young people do not know about Group D despite graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts. This made me very sad. That's why I was excited to remind them of Group D. "I went in and emptied my house and turned it into a gallery. Just then, the pandemic started and my concentration was disrupted. That's why I haven't been able to do this yet. But one day I want to open a Group D exhibition."
Who is Suat Arıkan?
Suat Arıkan was born in Ankara in 1957 as the youngest of four brothers. After completing primary and secondary school in different places due to his father's assignments, he finished high school in Ankara. After high school, he entered the Ankara State Conservatory to study opera in the vocal department. He took solfege lessons from İstemihan Taviloğlu and Nejat Başeğmezler, vocal lessons from Cemil Sökmen and stage lessons from Necdet Aydın, and graduated from Cemil Sökmen's class in 1981 - skipping a grade - with "very good" grades in 6 years and started working as a "soloist artist" at the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet. Suat Arıkan continued his vocal, style and repertoire studies with Dan Iordacescu, Daniel Ferro, Leyla Gencer, Licinio Montefusco and Elisabetta di Stefano. Having given many concerts and performances at home and abroad, the artist has a rich repertoire spanning from the 17th century to the present. In 1983, he won second place in the national singing competition organized by the Istanbul State Conservatory, the “Mustafa İktu Special Award”, and the “Sevda - Cenap And Special Award” for his success in performing a Turkish piece; in 1984, he won the “Rovigo Opera Special Award” for La Bohéme in the Toti dal Monte singing competition in Treviso, Italy; in 1985, he won third place in Cagliari, Italy; and in 1987, he won first place in the Rigoletto category in the role of “Sparafucile” in the Toti dal Monte singing competition in Treviso, Italy; thus, he gave many concerts and performances in various cities. In 1992, he successfully interpreted the role of “Leporello” many times at the Nico Malan Theater in Cape Town, South Africa. Suat Arıkan conducted various research and gave concerts in Italy, the Netherlands and Germany with the “knowledge-experience scholarship” he received in 1993. In 2000, he interpreted the role of “Selim” in Gioacchino Rossini’s opera “A Turk in Italy” and the role of “Sarastro” in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute” many times at the 25th International Opera Festival held in Montepulciano, Italy. He interpreted the roles of “Escamillo” in Georges Bizet’s opera “Carmen,” “Scarpia” in Giacomo Puccini’s opera “Tosca,” “Marcello” in La Bohéme and “Don Giovanni” in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanni” many times. In the years 2001-2002-2003; She was selected as a jury member for the AS.LI.CO International Singing Competition in Milan, Italy, and the Marija Kraja International Singing Competition in Tirana, Albania. She has also served as a jury member in international singing competitions held in Como, Capri, Salice and Spoleto. She has performed in concerts and performances in South Africa, Colombia, Germany, Italy, Romania, Denmark, Finland, Slovakia, Cyprus, France and Austria, and as a jury member in singing competitions primarily in Italy, the Canary Islands, Tenerife, and Albania. She is a columnist in magazines about opera art and has produced and presented various radio programs. In addition to her work as a soloist, she assumed the position of Director and Artistic Director at the Mersin State Opera and Ballet in the 2002-2003 season. She then served as Director and Artistic Director of the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet in the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 seasons. The artist continued in this position between 2007-2022. Suat Arıkan, who teaches vocal lessons at Mimar Sinan University State Conservatory, was also awarded the "Knight's Order" by the President of Italy Carlo Azeglio Ciampi in 2006 for his contributions to the art of opera. Suat Arıkan, who continues to be an Art Director, continues to be both a soloist on stage and an educator, after Istanbul University and Mimar Sinan University, and now at the Haliç University State Conservatory. Suat Arıkan, who continues to be closely interested in painting in addition to music, has held his fifth personal painting exhibition at the Almelek Art Gallery after Aya İrini, A.K.M. Art Gallery, Nişantaşı / Artisan, Ankara / Ziraat Bankası Art Gallery, and the Municipality Art Gallery in Rome, Italy. Participating in the mixed exhibition - Maçka / ART212 - which is thematic about the things that urban life brings, Suat Arıkan continues to surprise art lovers with his paintings made with different materials on different waste surfaces. The first works that come to mind from Suat Arıkan's repertoire are; The Barber of Sevil, Mehmet II, A Turk in Italy, La Sonnambula, Attila, Macbeth, Otello, Il Trovatore, Don Carlos, Aida, Nabucco, Rigoletto, Messa da Requiem, Turandot, Tosca, La Boheme, Salome, Beethoven 9th Symphony, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Mozart and Salieri, The Magic Flute, Tales of Hoffmann, Carmen, IV. Murat, Evita, Kiss me Kate can be counted... Suat Arıkan retired from the stage with his role as Don Quixote in the musical "Mançalı Adam", composed by Mitch Leigh, text and lyrics written by Dale Wasserman and Joe Darion, translated into Turkish by Güngör Dilmen, on May 24, 2022.
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