Opera soloists and the choir are actively preparing for the tour, which will take place on May 27 in Qaraghandy at the Shalqyma Concert Hall, El.kz reports citing astanaopera.kz.
A bright gala program and a concert version of Rachmaninoff’s opera Aleko were prepared for the discerning audience. Throughout the musical evening, the artists’ performances will be accompanied by the Yerkegali Rakhmadiyev Qaraghandy Academic Symphony Orchestra under the baton of the Honored Worker of Kazakhstan Pyotr Gribanov.
“The opera house’s tenth anniversary season is successful for the opera company. The artists’ solo performances took place at domestic and foreign venues. For example, Medet Chotabayev recently performed in Europe, Saltanat Akhmetova and Talgat Mussabayev performed in Italy. Also in April of this year, several more artists of the opera company represented our opera house in rich concert programs in different cities of Kazakhstan. This will be the first tour performance in Qaraghandy this year. At the same time, I want to say that the tastes of Qaraghandy viewers are very discerning. This city has long been at the forefront of cultural regions, as there are theatres, music schools, specialized schools, and many concert halls. One of them is the Shalqyma Concert Hall, where we will perform, it has wonderful acoustics,” Azamat Zheltyrguzov, Astana Opera’s opera company director, Honored Worker of Kazakhstan, noted.
This is certainly not the first time that Astana Opera’s artists perform in front of the Qaraghandy audience. Prior to this, the team brought to Qaraghandy Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Puccini’s La Boheme, Rossini’s La Scala di Seta. This time, as well as always, a rich program will surely amaze high art connoisseurs. It should be noted that masters of stage arts Honored Workers of Kazakhstan Aigul Niyazova, Zhamilya Jarkimbayeva, Gulzhanat Sapakova, Azamat Zheltyrguzov, Meir Bainesh, soloists Assem Sembina, Bolat Yessimkhanov, Shyngys Rassylkhan, as well as Narul Toikenov and the Astana Opera International Opera Academy attendee Dinmukhamed Koshkinbayev will perform excerpts and arias from famous operas, both solo and in duets, at the Gala Concert. The company will also present to the audience a concert performance of Rachmaninoff’s opera Aleko. Incidentally, the premiere took place quite recently at Astana Opera’s Marble Hall as part of the Rachmaninoff Tribute festival. Let us remember that the entire world is celebrating Sergei Rachmaninoff’s 150th anniversary. Among other things, a large-scale Rachmaninoff Spring International Music Festival was held in Tashkent this month, where the famous Kazakh baritone Azamat Zheltyrguzov, together with the Honored Artist of Uzbekistan, pianist Madina Fayziyeva, performed a recital A Date with an Art Song.
The artists hope that fans of their work will come to the upcoming concert with pleasure.
“We are very well acquainted with the people of Qaraghandy, and they always warmly welcome us. I think that we, the artists, and the audience have missed each other, so we are going there with great joy. I hope that the program of the gala concert will be of interest to the viewers, and we will return from this trip with good impressions. The Astana Opera team knows conductor Pyotr Gribanov and the orchestra he directs very well. This is a very professional orchestra with many years of experience. Before this we performed with the team in an opera production. Creative collaborations are always useful, such an exchange is very important and valuable for us,” Aigul Niyazova, the opera company’s principal soloist, Honored Worker of Kazakhstan, said.
Immediately after the tour to Qaraghandy, a premiere at the native Astana Opera awaits the opera company. This will be a children’s opera Puss in Boots by César Cui. In addition, the artists are preparing for concerts to be held at the Kulyash Baiseitova Chamber Hall in honor of the anniversaries of famous composers.
It should be noted that in the tenth anniversary season, the team delights the discerning audience with many new projects. Last December, the opera company presented the premiere of Balnur Qydyrbek’s national opera-ballet Qalqaman – Mamyr in anticipation of the 165th anniversary of Shakarim Qudaiberdiuly. This year, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Sergei Rachmaninoff, the opera company performed the composer’s opera Aleko for the first time. The incessant applause and kind comments of the audience, left on social networks, prove that the performances are held at the highest level. In addition, Astana Opera’s artists continue to tour and delight high art aficionados at various stage venues, remaining in demand and loved in all corners of our vast country.