Theater background

About the theater

The State Opera and Ballet Theater «Astana Opera» was opened in 2013 on the initiative of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The «Astana Opera», the largest theater in Central Asia, was built taking into account the best classical traditions of world architecture, while the Kazakh national flavor is emphasized in the architecture; its technical equipment meets international standards.

The repertoire of the Astana Opera includes works by outstanding national composers — the operas of M. Tulebaev «Birzhan — Sara», A. Zhubanov and L. Hamidi «Abai», «Kyz Zhibek» by E. Brusilovsky, the ballet «Karagoz» to the music of G. Zhubanova.

World classics are represented by opera performances:

«Aida», «La Traviata», «Don Carlos» by J.Verdi, «La Boheme», «Tosca», «Madame Butterfly», «Turandot» by J.Puccini, «Carmen» by J. Bizet, «The Barber of Seville» and the farce opera «Silk Staircase» by J.Rossini, «Eugene Onegin» by P. Tchaikovsky; ballets «Sleeping Beauty», «Swan Lake», «The Nutcracker» by P. Tchaikovsky, «Romeo and Juliet» by S. Prokofiev, «Spartak» by A. Khachaturian, «The Fountain of Bakhchisarai» by B. Asafiev, «Bayadere» and «Don Quixote» by L. Minkus, «Corsair» and «Giselle» by A. Adan, «Coppelia» by L. Delibes; productions by M. Fokin «Chopiniana» and «Scheherazade», B. Eifman «Rodin», R. Petit «Notre Dame Cathedral», K. Macmillan's «Manon» et al.

Chief Conductor — Alan Buribayev, artistic director of the ballet company — Altynai Asylmuratova.

The performances are staged by such famous foreign and domestic cultural figures as Franco Zeffirelli, Yuri Grigorovich, Boris Eifman, Giancarlo del Monaco, A. Buribayev and others; with the participation of set designer Ezio Frigerio and costume designer Franca Squarcapino.

On the stage of the Astana Opera, along with famous Kazakhstani artists — Bibigul Tulegenova, Alibek Dnishev, Ayman Musakhadzhayeva, Nurzhamal Usenbayeva and others, the stars of the world musical art performed: Placido Domingo, Zubin Meta, Elena Obraztsova, Valery Gergiev, Jose Carreras, Anna Netrebko, Marcelo Alvarez, Svetlana Zakharova, Ildar Abdrazakov…

Milan's La Scala Theater, Naples' San Carlo, Genoa's Carlo Felice, the National Paris Opera, the Mariinsky Theater of St. Petersburg, and others toured here.

Within the framework of EXPO-2017, the XXV International Vocal Competition «Operalia» by Placido Domingo was held

In 2014, the Astana Opera world tour took place (New York — Toronto — Paris — Antwerp — Rotterdam); tours also took place at the Royal Muscat Theater (Oman), Graz Opera (Austria); the Mariinsky Theater (Russia), the Teatro Municipal (Brazil), the Rome Opera (Italy), the Theater «Carlo Felice» (Italy), the Palace of Arts of Queen Sofia (Valencia, Spain) and other theaters. In September, it is planned to perform at the Bolshoi Theater of Russia.

The «Astana Opera» Theater was twice awarded the title of laureate: The State Prize of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of literature and art for the opera «Abai» by A. Zhubanov and L. Hamidi (2018) and the International Award «BraVo» in the field of classical art in the nomination «Theater Venue of the Year» (Moscow, Bolshoi Theater of Russia, 2019).

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