Astana Opera, Astana Ballet, and Bolshoi Theatre of Russia ink cooperation agreement

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - A meeting between the General Director of the Astana Opera Galym Akhmedyarov, Director of the Astana Ballet Alexandr Sovostyanov and General Director of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia Vladimir Urin took place last Saturday at the Astana Opera. The management of the two opera houses and the ballet theatre signed a Cooperation Agreement, which is part of the realization of the plans of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan to implement the cultural strategy of the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Astana Opera House's press office informs.

The Cooperation Agreement was the result of talks, according to which the parties will develop the partnership in several areas. During the discussion, the management of the two opera houses and the ballet theatre outlined a number of projects, among them performances and training of the Astana Opera and Astana Ballet's soloists at the Bolshoi Theatre. The long-term collaboration plans included exchange tours of the Astana Opera and the Bolshoi Theatre.

It is worth emphasizing that the warm friendly creative ties of the Astana Opera and the Bolshoi Theatre have been formed for a long time, and in the year 2017, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the two opera houses in Moscow, and now the parties have signed a Cooperation Agreement.

Kazakh artists have performed on the famous Moscow stage more than once. For example, the Astana Opera's Principal Soloists Honored Workers of Kazakhstan Talgat Mussabayev and Dina Khamzina performed the main parts in Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin. In 2017, the Etoile of the Astana Opera Honored Worker of Kazakhstan Bakhtiyar Adamzhan performed on this illustrious stage and won the first prize at the XIII International Ballet Competition and Contest of Choreographers. The Soloist of the Astana Opera Maria Mudryak made her house debut at the Bolshoi Theatre in 2018 in Puccini's opera La Boheme.

The soloists of the Bolshoi Theatre, in turn, also had the opportunity to present their art to the Astana's audience. Thus, Principal Dancer People's Artist of Russia Svetlana Zakharova took part in a gala concert dedicated to the world premiere of the Astana Opera. It is important to note that the Principal Conductor of the Astana Opera, Honored Worker of Kazakhstan Alan Buribayev is a Guest Conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia.