Semiha Berksoy's Most Comprehensive Exhibition at Istanbul Modern, January 22–September 6, 2026
The exhibition "Aria of All Colors," dedicated to Semiha Berksoy (1910–2004), a multifaceted and self-assured individual who achieved many firsts both in Turkey and Europe, brings together her output spanning from performing arts to visual arts, cinema to literature. Thus, it makes visible the artist's multi-layered world through over 200 works, highlighting the unique relationships she established between opera, theatre, painting, and literature.
The selection, ranging from early drawings to opera-themed paintings she brought to the stage, from self-portraits and portraits to her sheet paintings, presents Berksoy's personal mythology and deep connection with the stage to the viewer through a thematic narrative. Her productions, such as operas in which she played leading roles, theatre plays in which she performed, her published short stories, and Turkey's first sound film, "In the Streets of Istanbul," also reveal the scope of her contributions to the art world.
The exhibition catalog for “Semiha Berksoy: Aria of All Colors” includes texts by academic, writer, and theatre critic Dikmen Gürün; academic Ayşe Güngör; Hamburger Bahnhof Director, curator, and writer Sam Bardaouil; and artist Elif Uras. Also included are an interview with theatre and film actress Zeliha Berksoy and the exhibition's assistant curator Yazın Öztürk, as well as essays by exhibition curators Deniz Pehlivaner and Öykü Özsoy Sağnak.
The exhibition “Semiha Berksoy: Singing in Full Color” (December 6, 2024 – May 11, 2025) was first presented at the Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart. Curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath, with curatorial assistance from Emily Finkelstein and Agnes Rameder, the exhibition was conceived as an operatic stage. The exhibition, expanded in scope and presented with a new title and curatorial framework at Istanbul Modern, was prepared by the museum's chief curator Öykü Özsoy Sağnak, curator Deniz Pehlivaner, and assistant curator Yazın Öztürk.
Special tours of “Semiha Berksoy: The Aria of All Colors”!
For those who want to take a closer look at Semiha Berksoy's world, Istanbul Modern organizes special tours of the exhibition twice a month on Wednesdays. Visitors who purchase museum tickets have the opportunity to explore the artist's life and work, along with the exhibition's conceptual framework, through free tours.
A Writer on Semiha Berksoy; Elif Soyseven
Semiha Berksoy was not only an opera singer. She painted, wrote texts, and redefined the stage as a space for expression. Throughout her life, she refused to be confined to "a single discipline." The bond she formed with Nazım Hikmet, the friendship she shared with Fikret Mualla, formed not the framework, but the center of her art. So much so that she was always by their side during their most difficult times.
When I first saw her, I thought it was the luckiest day of my life. In the historic foyer of the AKM (Atatürk Cultural Center), while explaining the note "C" to us, she spoke enthusiastically about Atatürk, Nazım Hikmet, Carl Ebert, Wagner, and her memories with Fikret Mualla. Semiha Berksoy, Turkey's first female opera singer, whom I had just escorted through the Salvador Dali exhibition, seemed not 89 years old, but rather had the joy and enthusiasm of a 20-year-old girl. It was there, from her, that I first learned the importance of the note "C".
The devastation caused by the 1999 İzmit earthquake was still fresh in our minds. To help the earthquake victims, the Ministry of Culture and the Darülaceze Foundation came together to organize a Salvador Dali exhibition at the Istanbul Atatürk Cultural Center. The exhibition generated a lot of buzz, but there were also some unpleasant incidents. A few days after the opening, two attackers smashed the glass of two paintings by Dali, featuring portraits of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, saying, "Why are there no women wearing headscarves here?" and "Why are there paintings of nude women here?" I had come from Çorlu to see that exhibition, and as I was leaving, the crowd at the entrance of the AKM parted. Semiha Berksoy, Turkey's first prima donna, with her hat and iconic makeup, stood before us.
Meeting Semiha Berksoy
I must have said her name aloud without realizing it, because her assistant immediately jumped in. In a somewhat rude and commanding voice, she asked, "Do you know her?" "Yes," we said. She nodded. "She's come here," she said, "take her away." Before we could understand what was happening, we suddenly found ourselves alone with Semiha Berksoy. She neither objected nor said anything. She took my arm. We were surprised and asked, "Did you come to the Dali exhibition?" She raised her eyebrows. "Is there a Dali exhibition? I didn't know," she said. "Would you mind showing me around?"
We learned that Mrs. Berksoy was there as a guest of honor for the opening concert of the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet that night. That year, due to the earthquake, the concert was opening with Mozart's Requiem. After touring the exhibition, we took her upstairs to the foyer and seated her in a chair. Rengim Gökmen, the conductor of the concert, who had heard of Mrs. Berksoy's arrival, came over and chatted with her for a while. Then we ordered tea, and she took out a bagel from her bag and offered it to us, saying, "In Germany, ladies always carry these little snacks in their bags." A little later, we were having tea and eating simit (Turkish bagel) with Berksoy in the foyer of AKM (Atatürk Cultural Center), listening to his memories.
Nazım Hikmet was in love with me.
She told us about her memories. She paused for a moment, her eyes sparkling with joy. “Love, children, love!” she said, “Love is so important in life! Never forget that! But this isn’t love for a person; I’m talking about love for a flower, a painting, a city. There should always be love in your life.” Then she said, “Nazım Hikmet was in love with me, he was my first love. He wrote poems for me, he wrote poems for his other loves too, but he wrote an operetta for me. We had a wonderful bond. He would look into my eyes and read poems!”
At that moment, she was as enthusiastic as a young girl, not 89 years old. She read us excerpts from arias, explaining how important the “C” note is in opera. Despite her age, the power of her voice, her life energy, was so strong. I showed her the card I got from the Dali exhibition, and with a mischievous smile, she asked if I had a pen. I took out my pink pen from my bag. She wrote this on the card: “Elif, love gives a person health and creativity.” Then she added, “Come to the concert with me tonight.” We told her we didn’t have tickets. She smiled, “There’s always room for Semiha Berksoy’s guests.”
When the concert began, Semiha Berksoy sat on one side of me and Yekta Kara on the other. It was a dreamlike night. At the end of the evening, she gave me her phone number and said, “I need to show you the letters Nazım wrote to me; come to my house and see my room.” Then, unaware that she had a prima donna on her arm, she returned home with her assistant.
From that day on, I called Semiha Hanım, first with some hesitation, then out of routine habit. Our phone conversations continued until her death. Years later, I became a student of her daughter, Zeliha Berksoy. I told my teacher about our meeting with her mother and showed her the card she had signed for me. Zeliha Hoca smiled and said, “My mother wouldn’t do such things; she must have loved you very much.”
Semiha Berksoy’s voice begins not with a note, but with a threshold. Because in the history of opera, the “C” note, especially for dramatic sopranos, is not only a technical peak but also a moment of destiny. When that difficult threshold is crossed, not just a voice but a presence appears on stage.
Semiha Berksoy was the first woman in Turkey to cross this threshold. As much with her voice as with... She was one of Turkey's pioneering women, both in her existence and her works. She was so passionate about art that she even defied her father. In the Turkey of the 1930s, she was a free spirit who would stand up to Nazım Hikmet, slam her passport on the table, and declare, "I'm going to Berlin to study music." The resilience and efforts of that generation, which had witnessed two world wars and the transition from empire to republic, were perhaps not sufficiently appreciated at the time.
Born in Istanbul in 1910, Berksoy had already established her own voice on stage during the years when the Republic was still searching for its own identity. She was a student of Namık İsmail, learned painting, and took theater classes at Darülbedai. She acted in the Özsoy Opera, written at the request of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and accompanied Atatürk when he came to watch rehearsals. She was sent to Berlin by Atatürk for her education. The training she received at the Berlin State Academy of Music was not only an individual achievement but also a part of the young Republic's cultural ambition. She was the first Turkish woman to perform not only in Turkey but also on European stages. She became an opera singer. She sang Tosca, Wagner, and Strauss, but in reality, she recreated each role by imbuing it with her own body and soul.
Those who watched her say that Berksoy didn't just bring a character to life on stage. When she stepped onto the stage, she blurred the line between role and life. That high "C," vital for a dramatic soprano, was not a technical display in Berksoy's voice, but a moment of emotional rupture. In her own words, that note wasn't "sung," it was lived.
Semiha Berksoy was not only an opera singer. She painted, wrote texts, and redefined the stage as a space for expression. Throughout her life, she refused to be confined to "a single discipline." The bond she formed with Nazım Hikmet, the friendship she shared with Fikret Mualla, formed not the framework, but the center of her art. Indeed, she was always by their side during their most difficult times.
Immortal Friendships with Nazım Hikmet and Fikret Mualla
In the early 1940s, Nazım Hikmet, Kemal Tahir, and Hikmet Kıvılcımlı were in Çankırı Prison. Çankırı, one of the poorest cities in Anatolia, was a place where stone, cold, and deprivation prevailed. Inside, there were thoughts; outside, there was poverty.
In the midst of this poverty, Semiha Berksoy, dressed in furs, left the stage lights behind and went to Çankırı to see her great love, Nazım Hikmet. Nazım and his friends cooked her scrambled eggs in the prison, and there was a little strawberry jam in a cup. But Semiha Berksoy didn't feel comfortable at that table. Her own elegance was too much for her. Years later, she would regret appearing so glamorous while they were in such dire straits. When she returned to Ankara, she realized she was being followed. Soon after, she was summoned to the First Branch. She was asked why she went to Çankırı. Her answer is clear; she offers no explanation, no justification. She simply says she loves him. She insists, repeatedly, that she loves him. She makes no political defense, nor does she back down. Despite Governor Nevzat Tandoğan's harshness, the matter is closed in the face of this steadfastness. Semiha Berksoy is only allowed to go to prison, with the condition that she report her visits afterwards. In those years, love was so dangerous that it could be considered a political act. What Semiha Berksoy did was neither a challenge nor a defense. She simply said she loved him. She risked her career for her friends, but never abandoned them. She even arranged for the translation of the Tosca Opera to be given to Nazım Hikmet to provide him with financial support, but this close contact with a "communist," in keeping with the spirit of the times, created a turning point in her career.
She hid the fact that she painted from Fikret Mualla.
The friendship she formed with Fikret Mualla, through the mutual sharing and correspondence of two opposing spirits, lasted until Mualla's death. Berksoy supported Mualla, just as he had supported Nazım Hikmet, and tried to create job opportunities for her. He regularly sent provisions from Ankara to Paris, ensuring Mualla always had plenty of sausage, pastrami, aged cheese, olives, cigarettes, and raki from Apikoğlu, which she loved very much. Each time, he included a small note in the package: "Don't drink the raki all at once." Berksoy's belief in Mualla's art was so strong that he kept her painting a secret from her. He thought that telling a genius would be perceived as pretentious, and he never told her he painted.
The exhibition "Aria of All Colors" has opened at Istanbul Modern.
The most comprehensive Semiha Berksoy exhibition ever held in Turkey, featuring 200 works, is on display at Istanbul Modern. As Istanbul Modern Board Chair Oya Eczacıbaşı emphasized at the press conference, Berksoy's art offers a powerful legacy that must be considered in conjunction with the cultural imagination of the Republic. "Aria of All Colors" explores this legacy through a multifaceted interpretation by curators Öykü Özsoy Sağanak, Deniz Pehlivaner, and Yazın Öztürk. It juxtaposes Berksoy's dramatic soprano performance on stage with the intense color language in her paintings, bringing her voice into a visual realm. The curatorial approach elevates color from mere ornamentation to Berksoy's existential language, creating an aesthetic space where the female body and voice remain present. Therefore, the cosmetic language accompanying the exhibition, with the contribution of Flormar CEO Tuba Altunterim, can be read as a meaningful encounter with Berksoy's ironic makeup, based on conscious exaggeration.
Her sharp lines, intense blush, and theatrical face were not mere adornments, but a manifesto that made art, the artist, and women visible on stage and in life. As Zeliha Berksoy emphasized when describing her mother's relationship with painting, for Berksoy, color was not an ornament, but a world. "The Aria of All Colors," while bringing together this narrative constructed by women, invites the viewer to reconsider Semiha Berksoy not only as a figure of the past, but also as a threshold that still opens up space today. The fact that the artist's room, which is still not open to the public in Istanbul and the Museum of Painting and Sculpture, and the absence of a maison museum like Maria Callas's, are also questions we need to address. Speaking about Semiha Berksoy again today is invaluable in terms of the woman's place in life, the artist's existence, and the history of Modern Turkey. Turkey's "do" sound still echoes. The blush on her cheeks symbolizes life and vitality, while the recurring line of fate in almost every painting reminds us that destiny is in our own hands. To see much more than just Semiha Berksoy's works exhibited at the Venice Biennale and the Berlin National Gallery of Contemporary Art, to discover her famous room, her relationship with her mother, her ephemera, her colorful life, her loves and friendships, and the line of fate of an artist, don't miss the opportunity to visit Istanbul Modern…
February 11, 11:00–11:30
Guided Thematic Tour: Opera Paintings
February 18, 14:30–15:15
Guided Exhibition Tour with Museum Expert
Free for the first 25 people who purchase a museum ticket.
Exhibition tour details will be displayed after you select your dates.
Istanbul Modern members can make reservations via uye@istanbulmodern.org or by calling 0212 334 73 22.
Click here to purchase your museum ticket online.
Source: https://www.istanbulmodern.org/sergi/semiha-berksoy-tum-renklerin-aryasi
https://t24.com.tr/yazarlar/elif-soyseven/turkiyenin-do-sesi-semiha-berksoyun-en-kapsamli-sergisi-istanbul-modernde,53477