New Soloists of Astana Opera Academy give their first concert
The first concert of the new cast of the Astana Opera International Opera Academy held at the Kulyash Baiseitova Chamber Hall of the capital’s opera house was warmly welcomed by classical music aficionados, Kazinform News Agency reports.
The concert became a result of the soloists’ first month of work with the coaches of the academy: famous opera diva, vocal Maestro Marina Meshcheryakova (Vienna, Austria), Honored Worker of Kazakhstan, Astana Opera’s opera company director, Professor Azamat Zheltyrguzov and Honored Worker of Kazakhstan, Astana Opera’s principal soloist Zhupar Gabdullina, according to the press office of Astana Opera.
It was with great joy that I took over the baton from my colleagues – principal soloists of the Astana Opera, amazing singers who work very successfully with the academy’s attendees. The cast of youth programs around the world is getting increasingly younger, and the Astana Opera Academy is a prime example of this. The guys are very talented, amazingly hardworking. What makes me delighted is that they are eager to practice and are always in a state of searching for new sensations and colors in their voices, Marina Meshcheryakova said.
The program of the concert included world masterpieces of classical opera: from the bel canto era to modern music. Anastasia Remeskova beautifully performed the Countess’ aria from Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, and Nematillo Zkrullaev and Leila Alamanova performed the duet of the Count and Susanna from the same opera. Nursultan Anuarbek masterfully sang Nemorino’s aria from Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, and Shohrukh Yunusov sang Don Ottavio’s aria from Mozart’s Don Giovanni. The concert featured Oronte’s aria from Verdi’s I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata performed by Merei Kadyrkhanov and Rodrigo’s aria from Verdi’s Don Carlos, sung by Sultan Bakytzhan. The young performers delighted the capital’s audience.
The duets of Violetta and Alfredo, Germont and Violetta from Verdi’s La Traviata, Mimi’s aria from Puccini’s La Bohème, Schubert’s Ave Maria, Faust’s aria from the opera of the same name by Gounod, and Mancini’s “Moon River” were also performed. There was also a mix of Neapolitan songs performed by three tenors. The grand conclusion of the concert was the performance of Adolphe Adam’s anthem “O Holy Night” by all participants of the evening.
Zhanar Akhmetova performed the piano part.
The first month as soloists of the International Opera Academy became very eventful and educational. We worked hard so that the audience could enjoy our performance. It is a great pleasure to work with such teachers as Marina Meshcheryakova. She is incredible! The concert in which we took part was our first appearance on the Astana Opera stage: it is very exciting and responsible. I am very glad that everything went well, and the capital’s viewers received us warmly. I think that this performance gave me new strength to continue working on myself, Leila Alamanova shared.
It is worth emphasizing that the Astana Opera International Opera Academy is a unique educational project that has no analogues in the republic. Its main goal is to train world-class vocalists and popularize Kazakh performing arts.
