Selcuk Cara

Selcuk Cara (born May 29, 1969 in Langen , Hesse ) is a German opera and concert singer with a bass voice as well as a filmmaker , opera director, theater director and writer.

Life

Act as a singer

The Turkish-born bass Selcuk Cara gained his first experience in the youth choir of the Hessischer Rundfunk in Frankfurt am Main . He first studied philosophy at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main , with Jürgen Habermas among others .

In 1992 he began studying singing with Antonis Papakonstantinou at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt am Main. In 1994 he switched to the singing class of Eike Wilm Schulte , who accompanied him through to the end of his training and beyond. During his studies he attended Charles Spencer's song class for two years and in 2006 took part in master classes with Francisco Araiza , Siegfried Jerusalem , Katia Ricciarelli and Ute Trekel-Burckhardt as part of the 6th International Master Class "New Voices" . He regularly worked on the German subject with Richard Trimborn .

After permanent engagements at the Staatstheater Oldenburg , the Cologne Opera and the Bonn Opera , Selcuk Cara has worked as a freelance opera and concert singer since 2006. He has made guest appearances at home and abroad, including at the Berlin Philharmonic , the Komische Oper Berlin , the Cologne Opera, the Cologne Philharmonic , the Bonn Opera, the Beethoven Festival in Bonn, the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, and the Teatro lirico di Cagliari , in the Teatro Comunale di Bologna , in the Festspielhaus Bregenz , the Wiener Festwochen and in the Theater an der Wien . As an actor and opera singer, he worked with the directors Werner Schroeter , Frank Castorf , Katharina Thalbach , Stefan Ruzowitzky , Vincenzo Cerami , Roberto Andò , Michael Hampe and Günter Krämer , as well as with the conductors Markus Stenz , Bertrand de Billy , Johannes Wildner and Eivind Gullberg Jensen . Important roles in his repertoire were: König Marke in Tristan und Isolde , Kaspar in Der Freischütz , Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro , Leporello in Don Giovanni and Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte .

In the Wagner year 2013, Selcuk Cara sang the role of Hagen in a concert version of Richard Wagner's Götterdämmerung with the NDR Radiophilharmonie , which was broadcast on the radio.

In 2014 he sang the bass-baritone part in the Ode to Joy at the Beethovenfest in Bonn .

According to an article in the Neue Musikzeitung in October 2018, Selcuk Cara says he no longer sings.

Working as a filmmaker

On the advice of Werner Schroeter Selcuk Cara began in 2009 studying directing . He initially studied at the Ruhr Academy in Schwerte and from 2012 to 2015 completed the master's degree in scenography and communication with a focus on film at the Dortmund University of Applied Sciences . Master classes, lectures and seminars with Christopher Doyle , Vilmos Zsigmond , Gus Van Sant , Mike Figgis , Dennis Hopper and Vittorio Storaro , among others , accompanied his training.

With his second short film Hymns to the Night, based on the first hymn in Novalis' cycle of poems of the same name , he took part in nine international film selections. His third short film Lullaby made it into the official selection of Plus Camerimage and the official selection of the Delhi International Film Festival .

His greatest success to date was with the short film My Last Concert . Selcuk Cara was selected in the official selection of the largest and most important North American film festival with FIAPF accreditation, the Montreal World Film Festival , in the “ Student Film Festival ” category . My last concert was in the official selections of the London Film Festival and the Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) in the categories “Best Film” and “Best Director” . In addition, the film was included in the official selection of the main competition of the Plus Camerimage film festival and in the selection of the Michael Ballhaus young talent award “ First Steps ”. On August 10, 2014, My Last Concert at the Rhode Island International Film Festival won the Grand Prize for Best Imaging. A few days later, My Last Concert was rated “particularly valuable” by the German Film and Media Rating (FBW) and in January 2015 it was voted short film of the month for August. The film was also shown in January 2015 as part of the 36th  Max Ophüls Prize Film Festival , won the Alaska International Film Award (AIFA) - Best Family Film 2015, USA and the Phoenix Film Festival Award - Best Human Rights 2016, Australia.

In 2017 my last concert was added to the library of the “House of the Wannsee Conference” memorial and educational center (Joseph Wulf Mediothek).

Selcuk Cara is a member of the Federal Association of Film and Television Directors in Germany. V. (BVR). In 2016 Cara was elected to the nomination jury of the German Director Award Metropolis 2016.

Acting as an opera director

In collaboration with the Prague State Opera and the National Theater in Prague, Selcuk Cara developed a concept for Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen in the form of a “directorial concert” for the Austrian heroic tenor Andreas Schager and the violinist Lidia Baich . For this he condensed the ring tetralogy to 135 minutes. In addition to the dramaturgical concept, he also took on the stage direction, stage design and lighting design, as with his other projects. He wrote the book, directed and edited the film produced especially for this project. The project, supported by the Lower Austrian Cultural Funding, was performed with the orchestra of the Prague State Opera in the Forum Karlin on October 25 and 26, 2018. On May 5, 2019, Selcuk Cara opened the Brahms Festival Lübeck with the opera White Rose by Udo Zimmermann in the Musik und Kongresshalle (MuK) Lübeck. On May 29, 2019 Selcuk Cara staged Faszination Wagner at the International May Festival in the Wiesbaden State Theater . In addition to the dramaturgical concept, he also took over stage direction, set design and lighting. As part of the application for the title “European Capital of Culture 2025”, Selcuk Cara's musical adaptation of Richard Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg with spoken text was premiered on June 28, 2020 in the building complex of the Congress Hall on the former Nazi party rally grounds in Nuremberg . In addition to the concept, spoken text and direction, Cara also took on the areas of artistic production management, stage space, lighting design and costume.

Acting as a theater director

Selcuk Cara opened the Brecht Festival 2017 on March 3, 2017 with Bertolt Brecht's didactic play " Die Measure ". In addition to directing this production, he also took on the set, costume and lighting design.

Act as a writer

Selcuk Cara wrote a play under the name Selcuk Zvi Cara called The Bootcamp. He also wrote a contribution for the volume Ambivalence Experiences , which goes back to a conference of the Interdisciplinary Study Society for Practical Psychology, headed by Dieter Korczak . His autobiographical work Turk but still intelligent , published on March 14, 2016 . My completely crazy German life was on the Spiegel bestseller list just two weeks after it was published . In January 2017 the book was added to the library of the “ House of the Wannsee Conference ” memorial and educational center ( Joseph Wulf Mediothek). In May 2017, the very first publication / dissertation grant from the Richard Wagner Verband Frankfurt was awarded to Selcuk Cara. Topic of his work: "The Ring of the Nibelung - Decline of Family Structures as a Dramaturgical Device in Richard Wagner's Ring Tetralogy". Cara already wrote his diploma thesis on Tristan and Isolde .

Selcuk Cara is a member of the Literaturport / Literarisches Colloquium Berlin (LCB).

Discography

• 2004: Official Olympic compilation Athens 2004 (CD), area51 Records
• 2011: Mozart, Don Giovanni (DVD), Gramola Vienna

Filmography

Movie poster for My last concert

Direction, script and editing

• 2011: Time and Peacefulness (short film)
• 2011: Hymns to the Night (short film)
• 2012: Lullaby (short film)
• 2014: My last concert (short film)
• 2018: Fascination Wagner - reflections on the Ring of the Nibelung (experimental art film; Prague State Theater, Prague National Opera)

Awards

• “Particularly valuable” rating for My Last Concert , German Film and Media Assessment (FBW), Germany
• Best Short Film August 2014, German Film and Media Assessment (FBW), Germany
• Flickers: Rhode Island International Film Festival 2014 (RIIFF): Best Cinematography: Grand Prize, Winner of the Panavision Award, United States
• Best Family Film: Alaska International Film Award 2015 (AIFA), USA
• Best Human Rights: Phoenix Film Festival Melbourne, 2016, Australia
• Best Film: TMFF The Film Festival, 2016, UK
• Best Screenwriter: TMFF The Film Festival, 2016, UK
• Best Editor: TMFF The Film Festival, 2016, UK
• "Feel the Reel" International Film Festival Glasgow 2016, Scotland
• The Red Rock Film Festival Utah 2016, USA
• Best Film: Creation International Film Festival, Summer Session 2016, Canada
• Best Student Film: Bucharest Shortcut Cinefest, August 2016, Romania
• Best Editor: Bucharest Shortcut Cinefest, August 2016, Romania
• Best Director: Sose International Film Festival 2016, Armenia
• Best Student Film: London Golden Scout International Film Festival 2016, UK
• Best Film: Largo Film Award, September 2016, Switzerland
• Best Student Film: ShortStop International Film Festival, December 2016, UK
• Best Screenwriter: ShortStop International Film Festival, December 2016, UK
• Best Short Feature: Cinalfama Lisbon International Film Awards, Portugal

Web links

• Selcuk Cara's website
• Selcuk Cara at Literaturport
• Film overview at the Federal Association of Directors
• Selcuk Cara Zvi in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Selcuk Cara. In: kulturserver.de. Retrieved April 10, 2016 . 
2. ↑ Melanie Hanz: Opera star recharges its batteries on the coast . In: NWZ . May 25, 2013.
3. ↑ 6th Master Class New Voices 2006 - final concert. Bertelsmann Foundation, December 3, 2007, accessed April 11, 2016 . 
4. ↑ Richard Strauss Salome , in o.ton Journal of the Cologne Opera - 2004 September - October - November - p. 7 (PDF)
5. ↑ Classical start with Schiller and Beethoven , at www.general-anzeiger-bonn.de
6. ↑ Interview with Selcuk Cara NWZ Online
7. ↑ Il flauto magico (The Magic Flute) (Italian), on http://www.teatroliricodicagliari.it/
8. ^ Amici the Salamanca in Bologna
9. ^ Vorarlberger Landestheater presents the opera "Der Freischütz".
10. ↑ ^{a b c} Cast Theater an der Wien
11. ↑ Serse ou Xerxes (Georg Friedrich HAENDEL) , on operabaroque.fr
12. ↑ Florian Krenstetter: "Exciting" like the Waldviertel? In: Kronen Zeitung . 20th July 2014.
13. ↑ GARS / Opera Burg Gars: "DER FREISCHÜTZ" Premiere July 18, 2014. Accessed April 10, 2016 . 
14. ↑ Press material: Twilight of the Gods - Friendship and Treason ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Lower Saxony Music Days; Retrieved April 9, 2016 
15. ^ Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Bilkent Youth Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Iṣin Metin
16. ^ "Fascination Wagner" in Prague: The Ring of the Nibelung in Two Hours | nmz - new music newspaper. Retrieved October 31, 2018 . 
17. ↑ Selcuk Cara , on kulturserver.de
18. ↑ Hymns to the Night ( Memento from October 30, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
19. ^ Hymns to the night (Hymnes à la nuit). (No longer available online.) In: Everybody's Perfect. Archived from the original on September 19, 2014 ; accessed on September 13, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
20. ↑ My last concert. (No longer available online.) In: ffm-montreal.org. World Film Festival, archived from the original on September 13, 2014 ; accessed on September 13, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
21. ↑ My last concert. In: First Steps Award. Retrieved September 13, 2014 . 
22. ↑ 2014 Film Festival Award Winners Announced. In: Rhode Island International Film Festival. Flickers, August 10, 2014, accessed September 13, 2014 . 
23. ↑ Kaylen Auer: RI International Film Festival names 2014 award winners. In: Providence Business News. August 12, 2014, accessed September 13, 2014 . 
24. ↑ ^{a b} My last concert. In: fbw-filmbeval.com. German Film and Media Rating (FBW), accessed on September 13, 2014 . 
25. ↑ My last concert at the Max Ophüls Prize 2015 film festival ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
26. ↑ My last concert in the film database of the Joseph Wulf Mediothek  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on August 7, 2017.  
27. ↑ BVR - Selcuk Zvi Cara - Vita. Retrieved December 11, 2014 . 
28. ↑ deutscher-regiepreis.de , accessed on March 21, 2017.
29. ^ "Fascination Wagner" in Prague: The Ring of the Nibelung in two hours. In: Neue Musikzeitung . October 26, 2018, accessed October 30, 2018.
30. ↑ Interview with Andreas Schager on YouTube .
31. ↑ Daniel Kaiser: Lübeck: Young people stage the opera "White Rose". Article from May 10, 2019 on the Norddeutscher Rundfunk website , accessed on May 20, 2019.
32. ↑ "This moment is Siegfried's death" - "Fascination Wagner" inspires at the Wiesbaden May Festival. In: Das Opernmagazin, accessed on June 3, 2019.
33. ^ Egbert Tholl: History demands - Nuremberg wants to become European Capital of Culture in 2025. Selcuk Cara makes a contribution to this with his version of the "Meistersinger" . Review Süddeutsche Zeitung, July 1, 2020. Accessed July 23, 2020.
34. ↑ Selcuk Cara opens the Brecht Festival 2017 in the BR-Mediathek.
35. ↑ The measure - own theater production on brechtfestival.de ( Memento from April 19, 2017 in the Internet Archive ).
36. ↑ Youth pieces . (No longer available online.) Drei Masken Verlag, archived from the original on April 10, 2016 ; Retrieved April 9, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
37. ↑ Experiences of ambivalence at the Asanger publishing house; Retrieved January 25, 2016.
38. ^ Graff: Graff: Spiegel bestseller. In: www.graff.de. Retrieved April 9, 2016 . 
39. ↑ "Turk but still intelligent" in the Joseph Wulf Media Library  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
40. ↑ Creating something new - entirely in the spirit of Wagner. ( Memento of the original from February 26, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: rwv-ffm.de, accessed on May 24, 2017. 
41. ↑ "Fascination Wagner" - musical film project in the ARD media library , accessed on November 8, 2018.
42. ↑ 2014 Film Festival Award Winners Announced. Retrieved June 15, 2015 . 
43. ↑ 2015 Film and Screenplay Competition Winners. Retrieved June 15, 2015 . 
44. ↑ Winners Phoenix Film Festival Melbourne 2016 ( Memento of the original from June 22, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed October 6, 2016. 
45. ↑ ^{a b c} TMFF The Film Festival, 2016 , accessed October 6, 2016.
46. ↑ Feel the Reel - August 2016
47. ↑ Red Rock Film Festival , accessed October 6, 2016.
48. ↑ Creation International Film Festival (facebook) , accessed on October 6, 2016.
49. ↑ Best Student - Film Bucharest Shortcut Cinefest, Romania , accessed on October 6, 2016.
50. ↑ Best Editor - Bucharest Shortcut Cinefest, Romania , accessed on October 6, 2016.
51. ↑ Best Director - Sose International Film Festival, Armenia , accessed October 6, 2016.
52. ↑ ShortPole London IFF - Autumn '16 Best Films ( Memento of the original from November 15, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed November 16, 2016. 
53. ↑ September 2016 - Largo Film Awards , accessed January 10, 2017.
54. ↑ ^{a b} 3rd Edition (17–27 Dec 2016) Winners . ShortStop International Film Festival; accessed on January 10, 2017.
55. ↑ Best Short Feature | 2nd year on cinalfama.com, accessed October 30, 2018.