There are only a few days left until the New Year. Traditionally, this is the best time to remember the main events of the outgoing year. For Astana Opera, 2023 was full of significant events, premieres, tours and endless applause from a grateful audience, El.kz cites astanaopera.kz.
Needless to say, expanding the repertoire is of utmost importance for any opera house. In 2023, the list of productions staged at Astana Opera was expanded with several outstanding operas and ballets. The world-famous choreographer Jiří Kylián’s ballet bestseller Petite Mort was presented in May, causing great resonance and delight among classical dance aficionados. Another highlight of the repertoire was Rossini’s opera L’Italiana in Algeri, staged by director Yerenbak Toikenov and music director and conductor of the production Ruslan Baimurzin. The production, a rare gem on the theatrical stage, graced the program of the Operaliya International Festival, in which guest artists from 12 countries were invited to participate.
The highly anticipated grand premiere at Astana Opera was Løvenskiold’s La Sylphide, which became a symbol of romantic ballet. The production was staged by the artistic director of the Astana Opera Ballet Company, People’s Artist of Russia Altynai Asylmuratova.
Among the new productions in the repertoire in 2023 is also César Cui’s fairytale opera Puss in Boots. The opera, based on a plot familiar to everyone from childhood, has already become a favorite among the youngest theatregoers. For the first time in the past year, the capital’s opera house also presented Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta, performed by the International Opera Academy soloists, accompanied by the Astana Opera Symphony Orchestra and Choir.
Along with the premieres in 2023, two ballets beloved by the audience were revived on the opera house stage. Patrick de Bana’s Call of the Steppeand Raimondo Rebeck’s Beethoven – Immortal – Love found a second life.
Tours are an important event for Astana Opera. By expanding the geography of performances, the opera house’s artists gain the opportunity to share their art and receive new emotions from foreign audiences. Thanks to their high skill, the performers from the capital’s opera house are always eagerly awaited both in the regions of our country and at famous world stage venues.
In 2023, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the ballet company performed with great success at the Abai Kazakh National Opera and Ballet Theatre in Almaty, and the opera company performed at the Saken Seifullin Karaganda Regional Academic Kazakh Drama Theatre. As part of the 71st summer Ljubljana Festival, ballet dancers performed in Slovenia, attracting about 10 thousand spectators in two days. In October, the opera company performed Rossini’s La Scala di Seta to a sold-out audience at the 8th International Musical Theatre Festival “Seeing Music”.
This past year, the Astana Opera Choir once again made a spectacular statement at the Hajnowka International Festival in Poland, winning the Grand Prix and leaving its competitors far behind. Along with this, the artists gave a big concert of Kazakh music in Warsaw, completely winning the hearts of Polish viewers.
In December, for the first time in its history, Astana Opera performed in Dubai. The tour of the Kazakh company caused a stir at Dubai Opera. Handel’s oratorio Messiah opened the tour program, and all five performances of Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker were sold out.
In 2023, Astana Opera’s principal conductor, Honored Worker of Kazakhstan, laureate of the State Prize of Kazakhstan Alan Buribayev carried out a new Hungarian production of Prokofiev’s opera War and Peace in Budapest with great success, and also presented Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin at Slovenian National Opera. Under the leadership of the world-famous Maestro, the first performance of the suite from the opera Qurmanghazy by Akhmet and Gaziza Zhubanovs took place this year.
During the outgoing year, Honored Workers of Kazakhstan, Astana Opera’s opera company director Azamat Zheltyrguzov, holder of the Order of Qurmet Abzal Mukhitdin, principal dancers Bakhtiyar Adamzhan, Aigerim Beketayeva, as well as soloists Shugyla Adepkhan, Anastasia Zaklinskaya and others gave performances all over the world.
2023 was also a successful year for the young opera company soloists, graduates of the Astana Opera International Opera Academy Guldana Aldadossova, Alikhan Zeinolla, Azat Malik, Dinmukhamed Koshkinbayev, who became laureates of prestigious competitions and received invitations to perform at famous opera houses around the world.
Guldana Aldadossova was invited to the Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Musical Theatre and Tchaikovsky Concert Hall.
Alikhan Zeinolla took part in the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Italy, and won a special prize at the Opera Crown Tbilisi International Voice Competition. In the coming year he is expected in Italy as Conte di Libenskof and Chevalier Belfiore in Rossini’s opera Il Viaggio a Reims. In addition, the young tenor will perform at Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Hungary and he will also take the stage as Count Almaviva in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Zakaria Paliashvili Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre.
Azat Malik has a busy tour schedule for December-January in Europe, including a number of performances at Hungarian State Opera in Puccini’s La Bohème.
It became known quite recently that Dinmukhamed Koshkinbayev, who took third place and received a special prize at the Opera Crown Tbilisi Voice Competition, became the winner of the Big Opera International TV Project of Professional Opera Singers. And this is just the beginning…
Over the past year, the opera house hosted tour performances of creative teams from Almaty, Karaganda, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. On December 22, a grand event – Umai 2023 National Award, aimed at supporting professional creative teams and individual artists, took place at Astana Opera.
Summing up the results of 2023, one cannot ignore the first graduation of the Astana Opera International Opera Academy. A unique project that provides an opportunity for young artists to improve their performing skills has prepared an entire plethora of promising vocalists who are set to win the hearts of opera art aficionados. In continuation of the academy’s work, a new course of talented singers from Kazakhstan and other countries near and far abroad was admitted in the outgoing year.
Throughout the past year, like the previous ones, Astana Opera paid special attention to social initiatives. The opera house held a number of charity concerts, theatrical lessons, and other events for children and adults.
2023 is coming to an end, but the theatrical season continues. New breathtaking meetings with Astana Opera’s performers, grand premieres, and bright emotions from communicating with the mysterious and exciting world of art await opera and ballet fans.