Astana Opera stages La Scala di Seta to a full house in Saint Petersburg
The venue of the opera festival was the enchantingly beautiful House of Derviz in the very center of the city – on Galernaya Street, 33, where the St. Petersburg Chamber Opera State Chamber Music Theatre is located. The theatre is led by the People’s Artist of Russia, laureate of the State Prize of Kazakhstan, holder of the Order of Dostyk, II degree, Yuri Alexandrov – a longtime friend of our opera house.
Tickets for the performance were sold out long before the arrival of the Kazakh artists. The happy ticketholders not only enjoyed their evening, but experienced a true delight! The splendor of the interiors of the Rococo-style theatre hall turned out to be a natural continuation of the sets of the production. The audience, surrounded by statues and mirrors, became a participant in the action, especially since the funny characters of the farce appeared onstage from the auditorium.
Astana Opera, presenting the PICCOLO Chamber Theatre in April, staged La Scala di Seta first in all of Central Asia, but it is a huge responsibility to present an opera in St. Petersburg – the city of the highest European musical culture. However, the well-matched Silken Ladder team is stellar. Our singers (and not only soprano, but also baritone, tenor, bass, and even mezzo-soprano!) are proficient in coloratura vocals. They received special training, some in Pesaro, the city where Rossini himself was born. In addition, the Director of the production Ala Simonishvili (Italy) is a professor at the Accademia Lirica Osimo. The Music Director and Conductor of the production – Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan Abzal Mukhitdin, confidently and merrily led the Chamber Orchestra. Laconic and at the same time multifunctional sets and luxurious historical costumes, created by Manana Gunia, aroused everyone’s admiration.
The operatic farsa comica involves not only great singing (bel canto), but also an equally great acting. And our artists just enjoyed it onstage!
As Giulia, the Honoured Artist of Kazakhstan Zhannat Baktay is a charming flirtatious beauty. The singer conveyed the lightness, grace and cheerful disposition of the heroine with a magnificent performance of the vocal part – technically complex, but refined, full of musical melismata and virtuosic passages characteristic of the Baroque opera.
Giulia’s secret husband Dorvil, performed by the Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan Zhan Tapin, is a tender lover, trusting and jealous at the same time. His tenor sounded beautiful, his character portrayal was distinguished by exquisite taste.
The Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan Azamat Zheltyrguzov handled the part of the servant Germano masterly, as befits a real master of the scenic art.
The tall and handsome Yevgeniy Chainikov in a snow-white coat decorated with feathers and intricate embroidery is a narcissistic ladies man Blansac. In the end, he was easily comforted by replacing the failed bride Giulia with Lucilla, who is smitten with him. Dashing appearance, coupled with rich bass vocals and excellent acting made the interpretation of his hero memorable.
Mezzo-soprano Saltanat Muratbekova mastered the technique of the Rossini style in Italy, therefore, she easily and cheerfully tackled the part of Lucilla – simple-minded in appearance, but in fact a very enterprising girl.
In his native opera house, Ramzat Balakishiyev has a reputation as an excellent humorist both in life and onstage (of course, if the role allows for it). In this sense, The Silken Ladder is the most fertile material: entrancing music, comedic plot and action dynamics give the artists an opportunity to show their abilities. Ramzat brilliantly performed a smallish part of Dormont!
After the performance, the audience was in no hurry to disperse: they examined the interiors, shared their impressions, and even sung individual musical phrases. Our opera house has once again proven that thanks to the highest level of productions and the skill of our artists, the Astana Opera is known and appreciated in the global cultural space. The state policy in the field of culture is very important here, and therefore it is necessary to emphasize: the tour was held as part of the «Rukhani Zhangyru» program under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
«Thank you for the magnificent performance. If it was in the constant St. Petersburg repertoire, it would have had its own very numerous audience, because everything turned out bright, cheerful and well sung, just right for our gloomy St. Petersburg weather. Come visit us again,» the famous journalist of the Rossiyskaya Gazeta (Russian Newspaper) publication Yevgeny Haknazarov said.
«Thank you for the performance, I came from Moscow with great interest especially to see this work. I remember Astana Opera’s last visit to St. Petersburg, I remember the first Moscow tour. It is very interesting to see the company’s development dynamic, what goals it sets and how it solves them, what different repertoire it can afford at a good quality level. Today was a difficult work, Rossini is difficult to perform. La Scala di Seta is full of virtuoso music, and the artists handled it at a high level,» distinguished music critic from Muzikalnaya Zhizn (Musical Life) magazine Alexander Matusevich emphasized.
«I liked everything. First of all, because the production was executed in classical traditions. We are tired of innovations. Astana Opera has everything precise, academic, incredible voices, excellent artistry, the orchestra and conductor are all at the highest level,» Rinat Shakirov, People’s Artist of Tatarstan, Honoured Artist of Russia, Chairman of the St. Petersburg Union of Musical Figures, noted.
«I especially flew here from Prague when I found out that a performance of the Kazakh opera house will take place in St. Petersburg. I really liked Astana Opera’s performance, superb orchestra and soloists,» theatrical agent Ivana Jasanska from the Czech Republic shared.
«I enjoyed the vocals and the acting so much. Very beautiful sets and costumes. The conductor splendidly set the tone for the stage,» the viewer from St. Petersburg Galina Tkachenko expressed her admiration.
The Astana Opera tour does not end there and a new meeting with Kazakh artists awaits the Russian audience, but this time in Krasnoyarsk, at the First Dmitri Hvorostovsky International Festival.
