Astana Opera

Monday October 27 at 8 PM Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall, 57th St. & 7th Avenue, NYC Tickets: $10-$65 Reservations: CarnegieCharge 212.247.7800 or www.carnegiehall.org ; Box Office at 57th and Seventh

The Astana Opera will debut in New York City with a Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall appearance Monday October 27th at 8 PM, presenting "Voice of Asia," a program selected to include * Kazakh folk songs * arias by famous Kazakh composers including Zhubanov-Khamidi, Rakhmadiev, and Mukhamedjanov * excerpts from the operas of Verdi, Rossini, Offenbach, Borodin, and Bernstein * Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto featuring Erzhan Kulibaev, brilliant young violinist

Performing Artists: * Medet Chotabayev (tenor) * Zhupar Gabdullina (soprano * Sundet Baygozhin (baritone) * Aigul Niyazova (soprano) * Alfiya Karimova (soprano) * Erzhan Kulibaev (violinist)

Program Rakhmadiev................................"Qudasha Duman" Symphony Orchestra, Abzal Mulhitdinov, conductor

Zhubanov-Khamidi.......................aria from "Abai" Medet Chotabayev, with Choir and Symphony Orchestra

Verdi..........................................Santo di patria from "Attila" Zhupar Gabdulina (soprano), with Choir and Symphony Orchestra

Rossini......................................Largo al factotum from "The Barber of Seville" Sundet Baygozhin (baritone) with Symphony Orchestra

Offenbach.................................Barcarolle from "The Tales of Hoffmann" Aigul Niyazova (sorprano), Dina Khamzina (mezzo-soprano), Choir and Symphony Orchestra

Bernstein..................................Glitter and be gay from "Candide" Alfiya Karimova (soprano) with Symphony Orchestra

Traditional Spiritual "Elijah Rock" Choir a'cappella, Erzhan Dautov, conductor

Medley of Kazakh folk songs Choir a'cappella, Erzhan Dautov, conductor

Tolegen Mukhamedzhanov.........Folk Instrumental Duo "Tugan Zher" (Motherland) Ruslan Baimurzin (dombyra), Akbota Jumabayeva (qobyz), and Symphony Orchestra

Borodin.......................................Polovtsian dances from "Prince Igor" Choir and Symphony Orchestra

Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D major Erzhan Kulibaev (violin) and Symphony Orchestra

More About some of the Artists:

Medet Chotabaev is regarded as Kazakhstan's premiere tenor, and will perform Aidar's aria from the opera "Abai," by Zhubanov-Khamidi, generally considered the finest Kazakh opera written in the Kazakh language.

Zhupar Gabdullina, a leading soprano, recently captivated the audience at the Mariinsky Theatre with her performance of Odabella in "Attila."

Sundet Baygozhin is considered the finest baritone at the Astana Opera House. The Honored Artist received prizes for three years at the Arena di Verona with arias from "Lucia di Lammermoor," "Don Giovanni," and "The Barber of Seville," becoming the first singer from Kazakhstan to perform in Verona.

Aigul Niyazova and Dina Khamzina are regarded as the major soprano and mezzo-soprano, respectively, at the Astana Opera House. The award-winning singers will perform the Barcarolle from Offenbach's "The Tales of Hoffmann."

Alfiya Karimova will perform Kunigunda's aria from Bernstein's "Candide" in English.

Erzhan Kulibaev, violinist, began his studies in Almaty, Kazakhstan, at the special Music School for Talented Children, and continued at the Moscow Conservatory. The 27-year old has already received many awards, including First Prize at the Demidovski Int'l Violin Competition ini Yekaterinburg (2003); First Prize at the Int'l Violin Competition in Lisbon (2006); First Prize at the Int'l Violin Competition in Novosibirsk (2007), Gold Medal at the Int'l Hindemith Competition in Berlin (2010), and a Distinction Award at the Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition in Poznan (2011). Kulibaev plays the Stradivarius "Rode" 1722 courtesy of the Maggini Foundation.

The new state-of-the-art Astana Opera House was founded in 2013 at the initiative of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. As of June 2014, the organization consists of 136 orchestra musicians, 93 choir performers, and several internationally recognized ballet dancers and opera stars. Tolegen Mukhamejanov, director of the Astana Opera House, notes that the "Voice of Asia" program selected for the Carnegie Hall concert will demonstrate the Company's range, including Kazakh and European classics, Russian music, and 20th-century American Music, combining both Eastern and Western influences. At the theater's premiere, the company presented Verdi's "Attila," directed by famous Italian director Pier Luigi Piazzi and conducted by maestro Valery Gergiev. Upcoming plans include collaborations with Teatro alla Scala and Teatro di San Carlo, and there are also plans for a co-production with the Mariinsky Theatre of "Eugene Onegin."

http://astanaopera.kz/en