French writer Victor Hugo's classic tale "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" will be presented to art lovers by Izmir State Opera and Ballet (IZDOB).

IZDOB artists are getting ready to premiere the world-famous work that tells the story of the beautiful gypsy Esmeralda and the hunchbacked church bell ringer Quasimodo, revolving around the themes of love, romantic affairs and dilemmas. The musical will be staged in Turkey’s third-largest province, Izmir on May 12 at the Bornova Culture and Art Center.

Armağan Davran and Volkan Ersoy oversaw the choreography and libretto of the piece.

The musical depicts the love felt for Esmeralda by Notre Dame Cathedral's bell-ringer Quasimodo, who was born deeply deformed. The cathedral, whose 850-year history was destroyed by a fire in the recent past, plays a crucial role in the work. In the 19th century, authorities wanted to demolish the dilapidating cathedral in a bid to organize Paris as an urban city.

A locally produced work from its props to its costumes, the story will be accompanied by musical arrangements of Cesare Pugni's compositions by Bujor Hoinic, who is known worldwide for his illustrious composing career and time at the Ankara State Opera and Ballet.

The events will be portrayed through the eyes of Quasimodo, who loves Esmeralda but cannot protect her from the intrigues of the cathedral's priest despite all his efforts.

The set of the two-act play has been designed by Çağda Çitkaya while Gülay Korkut made the costumes. The piece will be staged by the IZDOB team under the direction of orchestra conductor Tolga Taviş.

Sertan Yetkinoğlu, Selahattin Erkan and Yiğit Olataş will be appearing as Quasimodo, one of the leading roles in the work, while Burcu Olguner, Cansu Polat and Oben Yıldırım play Esmeralda.