Semiha Berksoy, Prima Donna Of Turkish Opera, Dies

ISTANBUL, Aug 15 (AFP) - The prima donna of Turkish opera, Semiha Berksoy, died Sunday at an Istanbul hospital, aged 94, her daughter Zeliha told Anatolia news agency.
She died as she was recovering from heart surgery. "Everything had gone fine but she died this morning in intensive care," said her daughter.
Born from an Istanbul family in 1910 in the waning days of the Ottoman empire, Berksoy took classes at the city's conservatory and later pursued her studies in Berlin.
She is known to have stunned Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, with her renditions of operas by Strauss and Wagner. Berksoy was also a successful painter.