A significant event awaits residents and guests of the capital on July 13. A concert version of Carl Maria von Weber’s opera Der Freischütz will be presented in Kazakhstan for the first time at Astana Opera’s Grand Hall, El.kz cites astanaopera.kz.
The performance will close the Operaliya International Festival and Astana Opera’s 11th theatrical season. The conductor and author of the idea of this project will be the opera house’s principal conductor, Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan, laureate of the State Prize of Kazakhstan, Maestro Alan Buribayev.
Der Freischütz is one of the most important works of early German Romanticism that has become a symbol of the national opera of Germany. It premiered in Berlin in 1821 and immediately brought enormous success to the composer.
“This opera will be performed at Astana Opera for the first time. Addressing this opera is an important step for the opera company wanting to grow creatively and try new directions. The opera house’s repertoire includes national works, as well as Italian, Russian and French operas. However, German opera has not yet been represented. This performance will be the first step in introducing the capital’s audience to the wonderful German repertoire,” the opera house’s principal conductor Alan Buribayev said.
“The music of Der Freischütz will be performed at Astana Opera in a concert format, with an orchestra, choir and soloists onstage. Another feature of this evening will be that several artists will be involved in the same roles. I proposed this approach to our soloists so that as many singers as possible could participate in a work that was new for them and for the opera house. Thus, Sayan Issin, Ramzat Balakishiyev, Merei Kadyrkhan will take the stage as Max, Zhupar Gabdullina, Bibigul Zhanuzak, Nazym Sagintai as Agathe, his bride, Saltanat Akhmetova, Aizada Kaponova, Madina Islamova as Ännchen, and her young relative, Shyngys Rassylkhan, Valeriy Selivanov, Yerzhan Saipov as Caspar. As well as Rassul Zharmagambetov as Kilian, a wealthy peasant, Bolat Yessimkhanov as Hermit, Azat Malik as the sovereign Prince Ottokar. In addition to Caspar, Valeriy Selivanov will also take on the role of Kuno, a hereditary forester, and the opera house’s stage director, Nikolay Kulikov, will bring to life the terrible Samiel, the Black Huntsman. This new approach brings the upcoming concert closer to the gala opera format. In fact, this will be a gala opera of sorts, especially for the festive clothing of the opera house’s eleventh season. Only this time, all the concert numbers are united by one common theme of the plot and music of Der Freischütz,” Maestro Buribayev noted.
The plot of the opera is based on the legend of the assistant forester Max, who, in order to win a shooting contest and the hand of his beloved Agathe, agrees to a deal with evil spirits. Max takes part in a shooting competition, but keeps being unsuccessful. His rival Caspar invites him to cast magic bullets that always hit the target. Both conflicting heroes go to the cursed place, the Wolf’s Glen, to perform a forbidden ritual there. The famous scene in the Wolf’s Glen is a top-notch operatic horror.
The Maestro emphasized that for the listeners’ convenience, the dialogues will be beautifully narrated by the host of the concert. Nikolay Kulikov, the stage director of Der Freischütz, who also performs the role of Samiel, the Black Huntsman, in this opera, is working on the mise-en-scènes of all musical numbers to make the performance dynamic and interesting. “Particular attention will be paid to the key scene of the Wolf’s Glen, which will be resolved by using video projections to create an eye-catching spectacle,” Alan Buribayev concluded.
Thus, Der Freischütz at Astana Opera promises to become an important cultural event, opening a new page in the history of Kazakh opera. It will also become a bright conclusion to the Operaliya 2024 Festival and Astana Opera’s theatrical season, leaving an unforgettable impression on all viewers and opera aficionados.