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The first summer month was marked by a significant cultural event: the famous Operaliya International Music Festival will be held at the Astana Opera with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It will open on June 20 at the opera house’s Grand Hall. The festival will last a month, featuring world opera and ballet masterpieces, such as Verdi’s Aida, as well as epic symphony concerts. Guest artists from Italy, Germany, Korea, Bulgaria, Mongolia and creative teams from Kazakhstan will take part in the events, Astana Opera press office reports.
As a reminder, the Operaliya festival of high classical art has been held in our country for more than 20 years. Thanks to this international festival, residents and guests of the capital annually have the opportunity to get acquainted with the art of outstanding opera singers, famous ballet soloists who come to Kazakhstan from world’s best opera houses.
The history of Operaliya dates back to the Kulyash Baiseitova National Opera and Ballet Theatre. An important goal of the festival was and still remains to familiarize the audience with the work of famous artists, as well as building cultural bridges with teams from different countries. This year celebrated soloists from five countries will come to our opera house. I am sure that this will be a true celebration of high art, created in honor of the completion of the Astana Opera’s tenth anniversary season. I invite all connoisseurs of musical theatre to our festival," Galym Akhmedyarov, the Astana Opera’s general director, Honored Worker of Kazakhstan, said.
Thus, on June 16 and 17, Verdi’s famous opera Don Carlos will be presented to the residents and guests of the capital as part of the festival. Guest soloist - the renowned opera singer, People’s Artist of Armenia Barseg Tumanyan will perform the part of King Philip II of Spain. The Astana Opera Symphony Orchestra under the baton of the opera house’s principal conductor, Honored Worker of Kazakhstan, laureate of the State Prize of Kazakhstan, the world-famous Maestro Alan Buribayev will take part in the performance.
On June 20, the opera house will meet its colleague from the capital on its stage - the Astana Ballet team, which is preparing to present Jiří Kylián’s Falling Angels to music by Steve Reich at the festival. On this day, art lovers will also have an opportunity to enjoy the performance of the Astana Opera Ballet Company, which will perform Jiří Kylián’s ballets Petite Mort and Sechs Tänze to Mozart’s music. Conductor - Arman Urazgaliyev.
The series of ballet performances will continue on June 23 with the production of Prokofiev’s Cinderella in Raimondo Rebeck’s choreography. On June 29 and 30, one of the main events of the festival will be the premiere of Rossini’s opera L’Italiana in Algeri. It should be noted that L’Italiana in Algeri is Rossini’s first major opera buffa. Music director and conductor of the production Ruslan Baimurzin, stage director Yerenbak Toikenov, vocal teacher Ala Simonishvili, costume designer Manana Gunia worked on the premiere. On the first day, Holder of the Order of Qurmet Ruslan Baimurzin will conduct the symphony orchestra. Along with the soloists of the opera company, orchestra and choir, the Astana Opera International Opera Academy attendees, as well as a guest star from Italy, mezzo-soprano Laura Verrecchia, will take the stage. On the second day of the performance, Italian Maestro Giuseppe Acquaviva will take the conductor’s stand.
The performances featuring famous foreign artists will not end there. On the contrary, the geography of the festival will expand even more. Thus, on July 5, a guest soloist from Italy Diego Cavazzin will perform Radamès in Verdi’s opera Aida. His Mongolian colleague Badral Chuluunbaatar will perform the role of Amonasro. On July 6, the audience will have the opportunity to see the Italian opera singer Isabelle de Paoli as the pharaoh’s daughter Amneris. These days, the opera house’s symphony orchestra is scheduled to perform under the baton of Bulgarian conductor Dian Tchobanov and the Astana Opera’s conductor, Honored Worker of Kazakhstan Abzal Mukhitdin.
On July 9, the opera house will present to the audience a chamber music concert with the unusual title The Twelve Seasons. The program will include works by Antonio Vivaldi, Astor Piazzolla and Efrem Podgaits, dedicated to different, but equally beautiful seasons. Soloists - the internationally acclaimed violinist Alexei Lundin, the principal first violin of the Astana Opera Symphony Orchestra, Honored Worker of Kazakhstan Bagdat Abilkhanov and the opera house’s Chamber Orchestra conducted by Abzal Mukhitdin will perform at the concert.
On July 12 and 13, as part of Operaliya, the viewers will be able to appreciate the world classical masterpiece - Puccini’s opera Turandot. On the second performance day, South Korean singer Sejoon An will perform one of the main parts in the opera - Calaf. For two evenings, the world-famous maestro Alan Buribayev will cut a brilliant figure at the conductor’s stand.
On July 16, the outstanding conductor will present a symphonic music concert at the opera house’s Grand Hall. Certainly, such a large-scale musical evening will be a worthy conclusion to the Astana Opera’s tenth anniversary season. The program will feature Symphony No. 1 by Gustav Mahler and a symphonic suite on the themes from the opera Qurmanghazy by Akhmet Zhubanov and Gaziza Zhubanova. At the invitation of Alan Buribayev, one of the most famous cellists in the world Jing Zhao will perform Antonin Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor at the concert.
It is important to emphasize that performances for a children’s audience will be shown within the framework of the festival. One of them is Tleugazy Beissembek’s musical fairytale Samuryq Kelgen Tan, where the pupils of the children’s studio will perform the main parts. The festival program also includes performances by striking musicians on Kazakh national instruments.
We remind you that the festival will be held with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
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