At the Astana Opera, the festive evening dedicated to Nauryz began long before the curtain rose. A special theatrical program was prepared in the theater foyer for the audience of Sydyk Mukhamedzhanov's opera "Aisulu," providing a vibrant prologue to the performance.
Guests were greeted by performers from the opera troupe, choir, and supernumeraries in national costumes, as well as the Kydyr Ata. National instruments—the jetigen, dombra, kobyz, and dauylpaz—were played throughout the theater. A special place in the program was given to the traditional "Betashar" ceremony, performed by grandmothers in national costumes from the Almaty District Veterans' Council, led by Raushan Iskakova. Shashu, baursaks, and other national dishes added to the festive atmosphere.
The evening continued with a retro installation in the theater foyer. The space was transformed into a railway platform from the 1960s and 1970s, and a loudspeaker announced the departure of the Tselinograd-Almaty train. This stage transformation served as a meaningful continuation of the production and allowed the audience to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the era in which the protagonist's story unfolds even before the performance began.
The opera "Aisulu" is the first Kazakh comic opera written with a contemporary plot. Its action transports the audience to the 1960s and 1970s, so the festive decoration of the foyer became an integral part of the evening's overall artistic concept.