Astana Opera tours Kazakhstan cities

At the Gornyak Culture Palace, a concert from the Music Draws and Tells series will be presented to young viewers, and Antonio Vivaldi’s opera Orlando Furioso was prepared for the adult audience.

“Three years ago, with the support of Eurasian Resources Group, the artists of our opera house have already performed in a number of industrial cities, such as Aqtobe, Pavlodar, Qaraghandy, Ekibastuz, Rudny. We are very glad that this good tradition continues this year. Each tour performance inspires our artists, gives them new strength, and, most importantly, leaves warm memories of Astana Opera in the viewers’ hearts. These memories are the reason for new meetings with our audience. We are sure that the second meeting with the people of Rudny will be filled with positive emotions and unforgettable moments,” the opera house’s general management noted.

“Rudny is our company’s hometown. One of the key assets of ERG, SSMPA JSC, is located here. We are convinced that cultural events play an important role in the life of an industrial region, filling it with new meanings and emotions. Therefore, we are excited to support the tour of Astana Opera. Celebrations held by our enterprise have long become citywide events. I am sure that this time the city residents will also get great pleasure from meeting with high art. It is important for us that the residents of our cities, employees of enterprises and their families, have the opportunity to get in touch with the best pieces of musical culture,” Serik Shakhazhanov, general director of ERG in Kazakhstan, said.

Tours are a tremendous opportunity to introduce remote regions to Astana Opera’s art, so the program features the best and most interesting productions. In this sense, the performances created within the framework of Astana Opera’s Piccolo Theatre project are especially suitable. One of such productions is the opera Orlando Furioso by the Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, which premiered at Astana Opera last fall. Rudny’s viewers will have an opportunity to enjoy this unique performance for Kazakhstan, filled with passion and love drama. The plot of the opera unfolds around the unrequited love of the main character, the warrior Orlando, who loses his sanity because of the beautiful Angelica.

Leading masters of opera art and soloists, headed by the opera company director, Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan Talgat Mussabayev, will perform for the audience. Laureate of the Daryn State Youth Prize Rassul Zharmagambetov will perform the title role of Orlando, and Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan Saltanat Akhmetova will portray Bradamante. Tatyana Vitsinskaya will present Alcina, Angelica – Assem Sembina. Artur Gabdiev will take the stage as Medoro, Narul Toikenov and Altynbek Abilda will perform the parts of Ruggero and Astolfo. The performance will be accompanied by the Astana Opera Chamber Orchestra under the baton of the People’s Artist of Kazakhstan, Maestro Abzal Mukhitdin.

A fascinating and rich program from the Music Draws and Tells series has been prepared for children. Particular attention in the matinee concert will be paid to the work of the great German composer Johan Sebastian Bach, whose 340th anniversary is celebrated this year, as well as his contemporaries. Between musical numbers performed by opera soloists and the Astana Opera Chamber Orchestra, the opera house’s musicologist Saule Mauletova will tell young listeners why the music of these composers is not forgotten after more than three centuries, about the power of art that connects eras, as well as the life and work of the authors themselves.

Let us note that the tour is taking place as part of the Year of Skilled Trades, and therefore the main viewing audience will be employees of the Sokolovsko-Sarbai Mining Production Association and Kachary Ore, which are part of ERG, as well as interested city residents.

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