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Stage and music may seem to be separate. However they are more connected than one can initially guess. Opera is one of the most beautiful outcomes of this delicate connection.

Performing arts is like a huge umbrella. It covers many different types of artistic activities such as dance, theater, ballet, opera and dance theater.

Turkish culture is rich and colorful when it comes to performance arts. During Ottoman era, there has been many examples of performance arts in order to educate and entertain public.

Here are some well known traditional examples of performance arts in Turkish culture:

Karagöz and Hacivat, Meddah and Kanto, a local adaption of Italian Canto, are the most famous ones.

Turkish performance arts are dynamically shaped by social atmosphere and daily life. They are highly dependent on artists' initiative whether it's a melodrama, comedy or tragedy.

Plays' names are generally intended to be catchy and liked. However, there is no strict script or a static scenario. Players improvise on the scene almost every time. This is also called improv, a form of live theater.

Canto stays at the very core of improvisation. It is derived from the Italian word for "song" or "singing". Canto singers help improv plays to be more colorful and rich.

Music is as equally as important as the performance itself, almost all the time. Even if it is not the main object, it still determines the experience of the audience. Music is a powerful use to emphasize the theme or the underlying feeling of any other performance art.

Although they are two different concepts, performance arts and music goes hand in hand. Opera, is one of the most beautiful outcomes of this cooperation. It is a form of a theater, but in a more majestic way. Orchestral music is a must for any opera.

It is a performance art which consists of dance, decoration and many other visual details. It is crucial for Classical Western Music. Maria Callas, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Luciano Pavarotti, Leyla Gencer, Plácido Domingo and Hakan Aysev are worldwide famous opera artists.