Astana Opera’s general director, Honored Worker of Kazakhstan Galym Akhmedyarov, spoke in his interview about the opera house’s plans for 2024, Astana Opera’s role in shaping the cultural environment, future productions, tours and much more, El.kz cites astanaopera.kz.
- Mr. Akhmedyarov, what is your assessment of the current state of theatrical art in Kazakhstan, especially in the context of the rise of the country’s spiritual development?
- I think that the country’s art has a positive impact on the rise of spiritual development in general, creating a rich and diverse creative field for all cultural institutions. Today, Abai Opera House, Kuanyshbayev Musical Drama Theatre, Auezov Drama Theatre, Gorky Drama Theatre – some of the oldest stage venues, with their long, interesting histories, operate with great success. There are philharmonics, choreographic schools and academies. Our country is not at the curbside of culture on a global scale. New buildings are being constructed for many theatres, and many collectives lead an active creative life. For instance, Astana Opera is a relatively young opera house, but it is already in demand in the international cultural space, and it became the main center of musical and stage arts of our country. It is a kind of a mirror that reflects the global positive changes taking place here in Kazakhstan. All its significant projects are the implementation of the strategy of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the development of culture and art in our country.
- What key events and projects are planned at Astana Opera for 2024?
- In 2024, our opera house will present wonderful productions as part of tours abroad. The ballet company was invited to perform at the International Festival in Ljubljana (Slovenia), where the team will perform Khachaturian’s legendary ballet Spartacus. The opera company will perform at the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia. This year we plan to show the premiere of Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Sleeping Beauty and the opera premieres of Sydyk Mukhamedzhanov’s Aisulu, and Verdi’s Rigoletto. We are also preparing many symphony and concert programs. Thus, the opera house’s repertoire is formed from the most famous national and world opera and ballet works, taking into account both the need for professional growth of the artists and audience interest.
- What priorities and goals does Astana Opera set for itself in its work?
- For me, the opera house is not only a place where we present works of art, but also a platform for the formation of public consciousness. Astana Opera contributes to cultural development. Therefore, our goals are to popularize national classics, interpret them in a modern context, enriching the cultural heritage with the new sound and forms of presentation. In addition, we strive to become an integral part of the world cultural community, where we can present our national classics, such as operas like Zhubanov and Khamidi’s Abai, Brussilovsky’s Qyz Zhibek, Tulebayev’s Birzhan – Sara, and others. Another of our goals is to educate a new generation of talents, so we actively cooperate with young artists and have created the Astana Opera International Opera Academy on the basis of our opera house, providing its attendees with the opportunity to learn and improve, and go onstage with our company. Collaboration with Astana Opera opens up prospects for young artists not only for professional growth, but also for wide recognition on a global scale. The academy’s first graduates have already shown very good results – numerous victories in the most prestigious competitions, invitations to participate in productions in foreign opera houses, which means that we have chosen the right benchmark and are moving in the right direction. When thinking of the future generation of theatrical workers, we do not forget about who will adopt theatrical traditions in set design. Therefore, we were the first in Kazakhstan to create Theatrical Craft Children’s Studio, which successfully works alongside the Children’s Choir and Children’s Ballet Studio in our opera house.
- Mr. Akhmedyarov, what event or project at Astana Opera you personally especially cherish?
- It is a difficult question, because as soon as we start each new project, we put our soul and emotions into it. We strive for everything to be carried out at the highest level, because there are no trifles in art. There are projects on the larger scale, like grand opera and ballet productions, and smaller ones, like comic operas presented at our opera house as part of the Piccolo Theatre project. Nevertheless, absolutely everything is remembered, because all of our work is made up of such creative experiences. Fortunately, it is very eventful…