A press tour for bloggers and journalists, organized by the opera house’s general sponsor Halyk Bank JSC, took place at Astana Opera on June 24. The theme of the event was the collaboration of the country’s the main performance venue and the largest bank of Kazakhstan in the sphere of the development of theatrical art.
“Halyk Bank has been supporting Astana Opera’s initiatives for many years,” Nariman Mukushev, Halyk Bank’s deputy chairman of the board, said. “Our collaboration is based not only on sponsorship and charity, but it also affects our digital business projects. Today we present new, expanded features of Kazakhstan’s No. 1 billboard portal – Kino.kz, which is a part of the Halyk ecosystem. This is an inexhaustible resource for getting acquainted with the repertoire and purchasing tickets for a theatrical production, a movie premiere or a new concert program.”
General director of the State Opera and Ballet Theatre “Astana Opera”, Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan Galym Akhmedyarov spoke about the formation of the opera house, important events, premieres held within its walls, as well as plans for the future.
“During nine seasons, the opera house has done a colossal job: laid the foundations of the creative staff, repertoire, which influenced the creation of a certain cultural environment in the capital,” Galym Akhmedyarov emphasized. “Our repertoire is formed from the most famous opera and ballet works. First and foremost, we master and develop the national repertoire, as well as form the classical repertoire, study new for us styles in art: for example, the neoclassical ballets by the outstanding twentieth century choreographers – Roland Petit and Kenneth MacMillan – Notre Dame de Paris to the music by Marice Jarre, Manon to the music by Jules Massenet, as well as other striking ballets of the last century. We have exclusive productions that were created specifically for our company, for example, the national ballet Karagoz, The Call of the Steppe, How Long Is Now?, Beethoven – Immortal – Love and many others.”
The opera house is also actively working in other areas: the Astana Opera International Opera Academy has been established, a children’s studio is functioning, represented by choir, ballet, and theatrical crafts departments. A few years ago, the Piccolo theatre project was launched, where the Italian opera buffa masterpieces are performed. The opera house plans to open Astana Opera branches in the cities closest to the capital.
Since the end of last year, the opera house began active work with the well-known European television channel Mezzo TV, dedicated to classical music, opera and ballet. As part of this collaboration, in December 2021, the channel aired a recording of Gustav Mahler’s grand Symphony No. 2 “Symphony of a Thousand” performed under the baton of the Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan, laureate of the State Prize of Kazakhstan, Astana Opera’s principal conductor, celebrated maestro Alan Buribayev. In February of this year, Adolphe Adam’s two ballets Le Corsaire and Giselle were recorded, which will soon also be shown to viewers around the world through Mezzo TV.
Speaking about collaboration with the bank, Astana Opera’s general director expressed gratitude to its management:
“Thank you for supporting art. This is a huge contribution to the development and fulfillment of the spiritual needs of our society, as well as a contribution to our country’s future. In substance, an opera house is the foundation for the development of the musical and choreographic art of Independent Kazakhstan for many generations to come.”
As part of the press tour, bloggers and journalists had the opportunity to attend one of the most famous operas in the world – Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot, which premiered in 2018 and was supported by Halyk Bank.
The production, a true gem in the opera house’s repertoire, was created by the music director and conductor Alan Buribayev, the famous Italian stage director Davide Livermore, the set and costume designers Sofya Tasmagambetova and Pavel Dragunov, the opera house’s principal choirmaster Yerzhan Dautov and the lighting designer Vincenzo Raponi.
The title role of Turandot was performed by the brilliant prima Zhupar Gabdullina. Among the debutants were: Libuse Santorisova as Liu, Meir Bainesh as Calaf, Rassul Zharmagambetov as Ping, Artur Gabdiyev as Pang.
The second performance of Giacomo Puccini’s masterpiece Turandot will be held at Astana Opera on June 25. Bibigul Zhanuzak will debut as the proud Princess Turandot, and Talgat Galeyev will make his debut as Timur. Calaf will again be portrayed by Meir Bainesh, and Saltanat Akhmetova will take the stage as gentle Liu.
It is worth emphasizing that the practice of patronage – supporting culture, art and science has been known since the times of Ancient Rome. Throughout all these centuries, it helps the development of creative initiatives, expands the access of a large number of people to works of world classical art, the emergence and discovery of new talents.