The grand opening of the Zhibek Zholy International Festival will take place on November 12 at Astana Opera. A red carpet event with famous guests and journalists, an exciting program and Mukan Tulebayev’s beloved by all opera Birzhan – Sara will mark the beginning of the festival, which will bring together artists from Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Armenia, Russia, Belarus and other countries.
The festival will be held under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan until December 6. A ‘musical caravan’ of opera and ballet performances featuring stars from all over the world will be brought to the audience’s attention. The program of the Zhibek Zholy festival will certainly delight the residents and guests of the capital.
“A large-scale opera and ballet festival will become not just an event in the cultural life of our country; it will be a true celebration for all high art connoisseurs. We underwent thorough preparations, carefully thought out the program, deciding it necessary to perform music both recognizable and effervescent, as well as grand canvases, in order to reflect the true spirit of the opera house. We also strived to show the continuity of generations, so both stage masters and young soloists are involved in the performances,” Galym Akhmedyarov, Astana Opera’s general director, Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan, emphasized.
Thus, the national classical art gem – Mukan Tulebayev’s opera Birzhan – Sara opens the festival. The Mariinsky Theatre soloist, Honoured Artist of Russia, People’s Artist of Tatarstan Akhmed Agadi is invited to perform the part of Birzhan. It is symbolic that Astana Opera opened its first theatrical season in 2013 with this opera. Although, 10 years ago, it was a production staged by the laureate of the State Prize of Kazakhstan, People’s Artist of Russia Yuri Alexandrov, but the unsurpassed tenor, the best performer of the part of Birzhan Ahmed Agadi also cut a brilliant figure in the main part. Now the singer will have to portray this character in the new version of the opera, staged in 2018 by the Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan Askhat Mayemirov and the consulting director – laureate of the State Prize of Tatarstan Mikhail Pandzhavidze. In it, the production team offered a new take on this Kazakh classical opera gem, breaking the stereotypes of set design and perception of the personalities of individual characters. The author of the new musical version, Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan Abzal Mukhitdin will be conducting.
On November 15 and 16, Minkus’ ballet Don Quixote will continue the program. On the second performance day, stars of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus Dmitry Uksusnikov and Liudmila Khitrova will present their art to the Kazakh audience. Conductor – Ruslan Baimurzin.
On November 19, Puccini’s opera Turandot will be performed. Internationally acclaimed maestro Alan Buribayev will be conducting. Hovhannes Ayvazyan from Armenia will take the stage as Calaf. On the second performance day, November 20, Oksana Kramareva (Ukraine-Germany) will perform Turandot, Liu – Libuse Santorisova (Czech Republic).
On November 23 and 24, one of the most famous ballets in the world – Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake will be featured for the audience. Guest soloists, principals of the Bayerische Staatsballett Madison Young and Jinhao Zhang, will perform on the first day. Conductor – Giuseppe Acquaviva (Italy).
On November 29, Ballet Evening in two parts will take place: Gala Ballet and Jiří Kylián’s one-act ballet Sechs Tänze to Mozart’s music. Soloists participating in the program are Andrey Sorokin and Anastasia Milyachenko from Russia, Daria Suzi and Javier Cacheiro Alemán from Germany. Conductor – Arman Urazgaliyev.
On December 2, Tchaikovsky’s opera masterpiece Eugene Onegin will be presented, conductor – Alan Buribayev. Alexander Mikhnyuk and Daria Gorozhanko from Belarus will take the stage as Lensky and Olga. On December 3, Konstantin Brzhinsky from Russia will perform the title role, Gremin – Barseg Tumanyan (Armenia).
On December 6, the closing ceremony of the Zhibek Zholy festival will take place. An enchanting Gala concert, featuring Astana Opera’s principal soloists and guest artists – Elnura Muktarbek (Kyrgyzstan), Jabrail Idrisov (Uzbekistan), Sabina Asadova (Azerbaijan) and Arthur Islamov (Russia), will be offered to the audience’s attention, conductor – Giuseppe Acquaviva (Italy).
The Zhibek Zholy International Festival is aimed at overcoming the boundaries of a musical event and acquiring the significance of cultural communication between Kazakhstan and countries of near and far abroad.