Photo from the press service of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Russian Federation.
Muscovites and guests of the capital saw a new version of the monumental work of composers Akhmet Zhubanov and Latif Hamidi with a libretto by the writer Mukhtar Auezov, created by the Italian director Giancarlo del Monaco, the theater’s chief director Alan Buribaev, the set designer Ezio Frigerio, Oscar-winning costume designer Franca Squarciapino and masterfully performed by artists of the Astana Opera Theatre.
The performance took place within the framework of the international festival “Seeing Music”, which brings together outstanding opera projects from near and far abroad, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan, the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Russia and the administration of the Bolshoi Theater. The guests of honor of the evening were the Minister of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan Aida Balaeva, the special representative of the President of the Russian Federation for international cultural cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoy, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Russian Federation Dauren Abaev, Russian and foreign diplomats and artists.
Photo from the press service of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Russian Federation.
“Culture erases all artificial barriers”
And we must admit that the premiere in Moscow was a great success, amid cries of “bravo” and stormy applause. After the performance, the audience did not let go of the artists for a long time: the touching love story of Azhar and Aidar, in which the great Kazakh poet, educator and philosopher Abai Kunanbayev (1845-1904) actively participated, the High The level of acting skills, the scale of the production, as well as what was brought from the unique landscape of Astana, did not leave anyone indifferent.
The opera “Abai” was written by Kazakh composers Akhmet Zhubanov and Latif Hamidi with a libretto by Abai writer and biographer Mukhtar Auezov 80 years ago, in 1944, and was first performed on December 24, 1944 on the stage of the Kazakh State Academy. Opera and Ballet Theater. It was brought to Moscow only once: in 1958, during the decade of Kazakh art and literature.
Photo from the press service of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Russian Federation.
The current interpretation of the main director of the Astana Opera, the honored worker of Kazakhstan, Alan Buribaev (by the way, great-grandson of Akhmet Zhubanov) and director Giancarlo del Monaco, premiered on September 25, 2015. It is curious that in 2018 , for the first time in the history of Kazakh opera art, this masterpiece of national classics was exhibited in the homeland of opera – Italy, on the stage of the famous Carlo Felice Theater (Genoa), where it was performed. It aroused great public interest and left a vivid impression.
But in Russia they saw for the first time a new interpretation of this outstanding opera work.
“Today we are witnessing a truly historic event in the cultural life of our countries,” said the Minister of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan, Aida Balaeva. “In addition to an enormous spiritual and aesthetic charge, it has a deep social and humanitarian meaning, since we are talking about a vivid example when we see, hear and feel how culture erases all artificial barriers on the path to the sincere, pure and eternal . friendship between peoples.”
Photo from the press service of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Russian Federation.
Kazakhstan business card
The director of the Astana Opera Theater Elmar Buribaev (another great-grandson of the composer Akhmet Zhubanov) admitted that the theater group participates with great pleasure in the “See Music” festival.
“Meet with colleagues, rejoice in their successes, show their achievements, feel part of a big, big family that is very, very far from each other, but, nevertheless, together they fulfill a wonderful goal: to fight for beauty in En the world, is always a great joy and happiness.”
And it is doubly happy, according to the musician, to perform on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater with one of the main pearls of Kazakh opera music.
“All music by Akhmet Zhubanov and Latif Hamidi is permeated with Kazakh folk melodies and songs, including the songs of Abai himself, and the action itself is a magnificent demonstration of the traditions and customs of the Kazakh people. By showing it to Moscow viewers, it is important for us to demonstrate all the beauty of the Kazakh epic, the melos (song, melody, from the editor) of the entire Kazakh culture and the entire flavor of the Kazakh people. I think that any viewer will be interested in seeing this production from a melodic point of view, as well as the interpretation of the current director,” highlighted Elmar Buribaev.
Photo from the press service of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Russian Federation.
In his pre-show interview, the director of the opera “Abai” Giancarlo del Monaco shared how he ended up in this great project.
“For me the invitation from the Astana Opera Theater was a big surprise. I was surprised that an Italian had been entrusted with staging the Kazakh national opera. It is in Kazakh, which I don’t understand a word of, but the theater management invited me and it was a very interesting experience.”
According to the director, he had never been to Kazakhstan before and the language became his biggest problem. For this reason, every night I studied the translation of the opera until I got to the bottom of it.
“The opera “Abai” stands out for the fact that it is nothing like Italian, Russian or any other country’s operas. She is very original. And at the same time, Kazakh music is still close to European or Russian musical traditions. While working on this opera, I learned a lot about Kazakh traditions, the culture of this wonderful country and I had the opportunity to see a magnificent theater in Astana with an amazing choir and kind, understanding people. I was happy to work there,” said the Italian teacher.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Russia Dauren Abaev, who attended the production, called the performance at the Astana Opera House a logical continuation of the Kazakh Culture Days in Russia.
“I have already seen the opera “Abai”, it is one of the hallmarks of the Kazakh stage, the Kazakh opera, and I am sure that our artists will delight the sophisticated Moscow audience more than once. But overall I think this year can be considered very successful in terms of cultural exchange between our countries. In August, the Culture Days of our capital were held in Moscow, we brought performances and now an opera. Today there was an informal meeting of the ministers of culture of our countries, many issues were discussed, we are thinking about how to further deepen and develop our relations. For example, about attracting writers and developing other forms of cultural exchange. In a word, this year can be considered successful, but there is still room for improvement,” Dauren Abaev concluded.
