Da Vinci's bridge dream comes true in Istanbul

Italian artistic genius Leonardo Da Vinci's dream of building a bridge over the Golden Horn is coming true 500 years later. An architecture firm planning a version of the bridge over the Istanbul waterway is set to begin construction this year, while a US composer's opera based on the idea premieres in Turkey during the 2010-11 season

     Leonardo da Vinci’s dream of building a magnificent bridge over istanbul’s golden Horn is finally coming true, in opera and in real life, 500 years after the great italian artist suggested it to the Ottoman sultan.

U.s. composer Daniel Nazareth has written an opera based on Leonardo’s vision while Turkish architect Hakan Kiran has begun working to build the bridge the artist imagined over the golden Horn, also known as the Halic.

Five centuries ago, Leonardo wrote a letter to the Ottoman sultan Bayezid ii, suggesting the world’s biggest and most magnificent bridge be built over the istanbul waterway. His letter, ignored by palace officials at the time, was discovered in the archives of Topkapi Palace in 1950.

Nazareth told the Anatolia news agency that he decided to compose the opera after hearing about the story of Leonardo’s bridge and being moved by the genius’ thwarted desire. “This is why i brought Leonardo to istanbul in my opera, which goes back to 500 years ago. [in the opera] Leonardo is invited to istanbul’s Topkapi Palace to talk to sultan Bayezid and they decide to build the bridge,” the composer said. “in this way, the opera establishes a bridge between 500 years ago and today.”

The final stage of the opera highlights the possibility for all people to live in peace in an independent and creative atmosphere. “That is to say, Leonardo’s bridge is used as a metaphor that establishes a link between different cultures and civilizations, East and West and rich and poor,” Nazareth said.

Mathematic theories in Leonardo’s music

Nazareth said he had discovered a piece of music composed by Leonardo in the da Vinci collection in London and used it in his own opera.

“He composed a very beautiful melody with a text. The text says ‘Love is the thing that inspires me and it is a driving force,’” the American composer said. “My opera includes a part of Leonardo’s song. This melody will be played in the part where Leonardo visits Topkapi Palace.”

Nazareth also drew attention to an interesting mathematical aspect of Leonardo’s melody. “What i discovered is that this music was composed according to the Pythagorean theorem, in which the area of a square whose side is the hypotenuse [of a triangle] is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares whose sides are [its] two legs,” he said. “Another interesting point is that the height, width and breadth of the bridge in the letter are suitable to this theorem. Pythagoras was one of the mathematicians Leonardo loved most. He also benefited from him in order to reach the golden ratio.”

Premiere at Topkapi Palace

According to the composer, his opera about Leonardo’s dream will be staged during the 2010-11 season with the support of state Opera and Ballet Director Rengim gokmen. The premiere will take place at the palace that Leonardo never visited.

Nazareth said gokmen is thinking about translating the opera into Turkish and staging it in other cities. “The whole story of this opera belongs to Turkey. Most parts take place at Topkapi Palace. There are words from the Quran in my opera,” he said. “i am not a Turk, but my opera is a part of Turkey. But at the same time, it is a part of Europe because the music is European music. The opera might also be staged in german.”

Bridge construction to start soon

Another person working to fulfill Leonardo’s dream is Hakan Kiran, the executive board chairman of Hakan Kiran Architecture. After examining the artist’s drawings and mockups, and the bridge based on them that was built in Norway in 2001, his firm is working to create the envisioned span over the golden Horn.

According to Kiran, the istanbul bridge will be built from steel and wood without changing Leonardo’s original idea, but using 21st-century technology. The design was sent to the istanbul Metropolitan Municipality a year and a half ago, he added.

“The municipality sent [the design] to the preservation board. They asked for some research and we have finished it,” Kiran said. “We are at the end of the process and it seems that construction may start later this year. We want to finish it as soon as possible.”

The architect said the bridge had already begun to contribute to the promotion of istanbul. “There have been visits from all around the world for the project. People want to use it in their promotions,” he said. “We have a big responsibility and i hope that we will be successful.”

Kiran’s team will also collaborate with installation artist Vebjorn sand, who built the bridge in Norway, the architect said. “Leonardo and his bridge have become an international tool of communication,” he said. “This is not a commercial business for us; we set our hearts on it. This bridge is a world project and we want to realize it in Turkey in the best way.”

Norway project lasted 14 years

Artist sand, who constructed the Leonardo bridge in Norway, far from its originally planned location, said the artistic side of the project, which they worked on for 14 years, was very important. “i want to help the project in istanbul as an art consultant,” he said.

“This is a bridge between cultures, Muslim Turkey and Christian Europe. The beauty of the project lies in its artistic dimension,” sand said. “i constructed this bridge in Norway in 2001, but i want to see it in istanbul, the city it was designed for.”

“When I first saw the drawing of the bridge, i felt the same thing as when i listen to a symphony by a great composer or see a painting by a renowned painter,” he said. “it reflects the artistic and philosophical combination of the Renaissance soul. This is why i believe that this bridge carries a message.”

The Norwegian artist wants to build a version of the bridge on each continent, a process he has started by building replicas in ice in Antarctica and New York in order to draw attention to climate change.

source:http://www.hurriyetdailynews.coma

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