Astana Opera: To the Anniversaries of Musical Geniuses
On February 23, a concert A Date with Romance will be featured for the high art aficionados at the Kulyash Baiseitova Chamber Hall, Kazinform refers to the Astana Opera’s Press Office.
Acclaimed Kazakh artists, baritone Azamat Zheltyrguzov and pianist Dolores Umbetaliyeva, will demonstrate the nuanced art of chamber performance. The guest of the evening will be the world-famous bass singer Barseg Tumanyan, who was applauded by the audiences at all the leading opera venues in the world.
«In this concert, the listeners will have the opportunity to enjoy both the famous, beloved art songs by Sergei Rachmaninoff, and to discover rarely performed masterpieces written by the brilliant composer in the romance genre. When choosing a program, it was also important for us to present diverse compositions that convey all the emotional states of the human soul. The complexity of their performance lies in the fact that Sergei Rachmaninoff himself was an excellent pianist, therefore in all his art songs there is a very rich piano part, which does not remain in the background, but goes in parallel with the vocal part. The pianist needs to show the highest level of skill and professionalism, since there is a large-scale manner of execution with many musical colors, where for a short period of time you need to show both the sound and the mood, to reveal the rich palette of feelings and ruminations,» Dolores Umbetaliyeva shared.
Azamat Zheltyrguzov, in turn, said that the legendary bass Evgeny Nesterenko not only performed with great success at the world’s best opera houses, such as the Teatro alla Scala, the Arena di Verona, the Metropolitan Opera, the Bolshoi Theatre, the Royal Opera House, the Wiener Staatsoper, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Hungarian State Opera, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm and others, but he was also one of the most prominent performers in the chamber genre, including Rachmaninoff’s vocal lyrics.
«In addition to a brilliant career as a performer, Yevgeny Nesterenko was an excellent teacher, and Barseg Tumanyan and I were lucky to be his students at different times. In 1985-1986, Barseg Tumanyan trained with him at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory. Many years later, I trained with Evgeny Nesterenko in Vienna with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan. I met Maestro Nesterenko in 2009 at the Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition in Finland. Barseg Tumanyan and I have become good friends since the second Maria Bieşu International Competition in 2012. We would like to dedicate this concert to the great composer Sergei Rachmaninoff and an outstanding performer of his wonderful works – our teacher, Professor Evgeny Nesterenko. It is a great honor for us to be the successors of the work begun many decades ago by such famous musicians and to go onstage today to perform these immortal creations, which during all this time continue to be at the peak of popularity and still enjoy the great love of the audience,» Azamat Zheltyrguzov noted.
In addition to the anniversary evening, the February repertoire of the Kulyash Baiseitova Chamber Hall will feature a wide variety of concerts and performances. Thus, on February 3, Donizetti’s exciting comic opera Don Pasquale will take place within the framework of the Piccolo Theatre project. A day later, on February 4, the Renaissance Piano Trio from Almaty, consisting of violinist Yerkebulan Saparbayev, cellist Eldar Aitbekov and pianist Askar Kulsharipov, will perform Chamber Music of the Great Symphonists.
On February 10, Gaziza Zhubanova State String Quartet, under the direction of cellist Yernar Myntayev, will perform their first concert of the year West – East: Musical Parallels. On February 15, the piano duet of Gulzhan Uzenbayeva and Dana Zhubanova-Ali will present The Evening of French Music to the audience’s attention.
The State Trio of the Republic of Kazakhstan Forte-Trio will dedicate the concert In Memory of the Great Artist to the 150th anniversary of Sergei Rachmaninoff on February 17. Together with the musicians of the trio, violinist Maksat Zhussupov, cellist Murat Narbekov and the artistic director of the team, pianist Timur Urmancheyev, the opera house’s soloist, baritone Rassul Zharmagambetov, will perform. And on February 26, the Charm of the Baroque concert will be offered to the high art aficionados. The evening will feature performances by countertenor Batyrzhan Smakov, the opera house’s soloist – soprano Madina Islamova, and the Anima di Barocco string ensemble, the artistic director of the project is Raissa Mussakhajayeva.
Photo: astanaopera.kz