Astana Opera soloists Zhannat Baktay and Artur Gabdiyev star in L’Elisir d’Amore
Principal soloist Zhannat Baktay created several unforgettable portrayals at the opera house. On March 15, the famous soprano singer appeared before the audience as the beautiful Adina.
«Everyone who comes across the opera L’Elisir d’Amore is imbued with its energy, love of life, and youth, so I would like to call it «The Elixir of Energy» for everyone. Thanks to the fast tempos, the artists who are on stage and in the orchestra pit and the audience sitting in the hall get a great drive from it. Everyone gets swept away by the wave of this music. The spirit, the energy of this «elixir» charges everyone and leaves them in high spirits, with a sense of euphoria,» Zhannat Baktay says. «The stage director of the production, Arnaud Bernard, is a representative of the French school, which is very different from all other schools. It is very mobile, creative, and exciting. Currently, Maestro Bernard is the top opera director in the world,» the artist added.
The famous singer said that during his lifetime, Gaetano Donizetti was a very successful composer who wrote a large number of operas, and created L’Elisir d’Amore in just two weeks.
«Donizetti was and remains a benchmark author for opera composers and performers. Many composers came to watch his performances, learn from his experience, and study their craft based on these works. Donizetti’s operas are written with great taste, in the best canons of the genre. Everything in them is very clever, logical, and precise, and they can be called a classical standards. For me, the part of Adina is exemplary, and going onstage as this character is a big victory over myself. Certainly, I am incredibly happy to perform the music of such an outstanding composer as Donizetti, staged by such an extraordinary director as Arnaud Bernard, with sets and costumes by such prominent designers as Ezio Frigerio and Franca Squarciapino, under the baton of the celebrated Maestro Alan Buribayev, in one of the world’s best opera houses,» Zhannat Baktay said.
As it is commonly known, L’Elisir d’Amore is one of the world’s most beloved and frequently performed operas, and Nemorino’s famous romance «Una furtiva lagrima» is one of the most famous Italian arias of the tenor repertoire. Many generations of vocalists have successfully presented the part of Nemorino at various venues around the world. On March 14, the capital’s classical art aficionados applauded the performance of the opera house’s soloist Artur Gabdiyev.
«My hero is a very kind, simple, open, cheerful, but at the same time brave young man, ready to fight for his love to the end. Even though at first he will be disappointed, later he still achieves his goal. Dreaming of romantic love, he longs for gallant, sublime feelings. The character has a lyrical aspect that makes it extraordinarily enticing for both performers and viewers,» Artur Gabdiyevshares. «In my opinion, Nemorino is a dream part, one of the most desired parts for any tenor and everyone finds something personal in it. At the same time, this is a very difficult part, with a large number of ensembles, and one can say that throughout the entire action of the opera, one must sing «non-stop», practically without leaving the stage. It must be emphasized that, first and foremost, performing Gaetano Donizetti’s masterpiece is important and beneficial for vocalists, because it is in Donizetti and Bellini’s works that the soloists’ skills are revealed since they are considered a school of virtuoso bel canto vocal technique.»
It is important to note that on March 14, the opera star Saltanat Akhmetova presented her interpretation of Adina, and on March 15, the bright Kazakh tenor Ramzat Balakishiyev performed Nemorino.
On different days, the characters were portrayed by Astana Opera’s brilliant soloists: Belcore – Talgat Mussabayev, Yerzhan Saipov, Dr. Dulcamara – Yevgeniy Chainikov, Giannetta – Madina Islamova, Nazym Sagintai. One of the opera’s protagonists was the opera house’s choir, and the principal choirmaster Yerzhan Dautov was responsible for its excellent sound. The assistant director is Yerenbak Toikenov, the technical director of the project is Victor Carare, and the opera company director is Azamat Zheltyrguzov.