Renowned Soprano Bibigul Zhanuzak: “Kazakh National Operas are Operaliya Festival Style”
On June 30, Mukan Tulebayev’s opera Birzhan – Sara will be presented at Astana Opera’s Grand Hall. The viewers will be able to enjoy this national opera masterpiece as part of the Operaliya 2024 International Music Festival taking place at the opera house, El.kz cites astanaopera.kz.
Bibigul Zhanuzak, Astana Opera’s principal soloist, Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan, noted that the most welcome thing about the Operaliya is that colleagues from different countries come, exchange experiences, and strengthen friendship ties.
“The Operaliya festival takes place at our opera house every year, and we always look forward to it. For example, at Operaliya 2023, I performed the title role in Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot and Élisabeth in Giuseppe Verdi’s Don Carlos. This year, I will take the stage as my beloved character Sara in Birzhan – Sara, our national classical gem. I performed this part for the first time in 2009 at the Kulyash Baiseitova Opera House. Every year I get older, my professional skills grow and I notice that my portrayal of Sara unveils more and more with each performance. I cannot say that I perform my heroine exactly the same way every time, rather, I strive to convey Sara’s multifaceted personality,” Bibigul Zhanuzak said.
“Kazakh operas are our pride. In addition to Birzhan – Sara, I perform many other national opera productions. I often notice that viewers, including foreign guests, are very interested in our national productions and readily embrace Kazakh operas. Many people are fascinated by the incredibly beautiful set and costume design in national operas. For example, if you look at the stage in Birzhan – Sara, you will not remain indifferent. Thanks to this, our national performances adorn the festival held at our opera house. What is important, all events open and close with a national performance or number,” the renowned opera singer concluded.
As a reminder, on June 21, 2013, exactly eleven years ago, Astana Opera opened with the opera Birzhan – Sara. Since its inception, the opera house has chosen the popularization of national art as the main direction of its work and has not yet changed its vector of development.
Five years later, the capital’s opera house presented a new musical version of the opera Birzhan – Sara as a result of the work of the production team, which included stage director, Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan Askhat Mayemirov, consulting director Mikhail Pandzhavidze, music director of the production, Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan Abzal Mukhitdin, and other prominent specialists. The opera, which opens with the scene of a fair, immediately captivates the viewers. Thanks to the use of 3D technologies, images of nature and the heroes’ daily routines come to life. Bright sets and costumes by the Honoured Workers of Kazakhstan Sofya Tasmagambetova and Pavel Dragunov, as well as video projections by the Italian designer Sergio Metalli, and most importantly, profound music, the soloists’ wonderful voices and the harmonious sound of the orchestra leave unforgettable impression on the audience.
Astana Opera’s principal soloists, Honoured Workers of Kazakhstan Meir Bainesh and Bibigul Zhanuzak, will perform the title roles of Birzhan and Sara. The opera house’s principal soloist, Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan Zhanat Shybykbayev will present Zhanbota. The opera company soloists will appear before the audience in the following parts: Gulzhanat Sapakova – Analyq, Assem Sembina – Altynai, Rassul Zharmagambetov – Zhienqul, Shyngys Rassylkhan – Qozhaghul, Artur Gabdiyev – Serik, Talgat Allabirinov – Yestai. On this day, the symphony orchestra, choir, ballet dancers and supernumeraries of Astana Opera will perform under the opera house’s conductor, holder of the Order of Qurmet Ruslan Baimurzin.
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