The Astana Opera State Opera and Ballet Theater was opened in 2013. The Astana Opera, the largest theater in Central Asia, was built taking into account the best classical traditions of world architecture with a combination of Kazakh national flavor.

On June 21, 2013, the theater officially opened its first theatrical season with the great creation of M. Tulebayev – the “Birzhan–Sara” opera. In the autumn of the same year, the world premiere of the Astana Opera took place, which was presented to the world community by the “Attila” opera of J. Verdi’s. The troupe was formed by competitive selection. The jury included the representatives of such major theaters as the Bolshoi (Big), the Mariinsky and La Scala.

In the first theatrical season, the premieres of the ballets “Sleeping Beauty” by P.I. Tchaikovsky staged by the world–renowned choreographer Yuriy Grigorovich, as well as the “Romeo and Juliet” by S. Prokofiyev staged by the famous French choreographer Sh.Zhyuda. Also, there is a modern ballet by the famous Russian choreographer B. Eifman – “Roden”. The artists presented the productions of joint performances with the collectives of such theaters as the Roman Opera, La Scala, the Bolshoi Theater of Russia, the Mariinsky Theater, the Bordeaux Opera and the B. Eifman Ballet Theater. It is no coincidence that the prophetic bird “Samruk” is depicted on the front of the theater building. According to the legend, this mythical bird of gigantic size lives at the top of the Baiterek tree of life and it is a mediator between the worlds.

Today, the repertoire of the Astana Opera Theater is decorated with works by outstanding national composers, operas such as the “Birzhan — Sara” by M. Tulebayev, “Abai” by A. Zhubanov and L. Khamidi, “Kyz Zhibek” by E. Brusilovsky, as well as the “Karagoz” ballet to the music of G. Zhubanova. The world classics are represented by opera performances: “Aida”, “La Traviata”, “Don Carlos” by J. Verdi, “La Boheme”, “Tosca” (Grief), “Madame Butterfly”, “Turandot” by J. Puccini, “Carmen” by J. Bizet, “The Barber of Seville” and the farce opera “Silk Staircase” by J.Rossini, “Eugene Onegin” by P. Tchaikovsky; the ballets “Sleeping Beauty”, “Swan Lake”, “The Nutcracker” by P. Tchaikovsky, “Romeo and Juliet” by S. Prokofiyev, “Spartacus” by A. Khachaturian, “Bakhchisarai Fountain” by B. Asafiyev, “La Bayadere” and “Don Quixote” by L. Minkus, “Corsair” and “Giselle” by A. Adan, “Coppelia” by L. Delibes; the productions by M. Fokin’s “Chopiniana” and “Scheherazade”, B. Eifman’s “Rodin”, R. Petit’s “Notre Dame Cathedral”, K. Mackmillan’s “Manon”, etc.

“Birzhan–Sara” Opera by M.Tulebayev

The main conductor of the theater is the Honored Figure of Kazakhstan, the world-famous maestro Alan Buribayev; the artistic director of the ballet troupe is the People’s Artist of Russia Altynai Asylmuratova, who shone at the stages of the Leningrad Kirov Opera and Ballet Theater — the Mariinsky Theater, the English Royal Ballet and the Marseille Ballet by Roland Petit.

The performances at the Astana Opera Theater are staged by such famous foreign and domestic cultural figures as Franco Zeffirelli, Yuriy Grigorovich, Boris Eifman, Giancarlo Del Monaco, A. Buribayev and others; with the participation of set designer Ezio Frigerio and costume designer Franca Squarcapino.

“Kyz Zhibek” Opera by E. Brusilovsky

The stars of the world musical art have performed at the stage of the Astana Opera in different years, along with famous Kazakh artists — Bibigul Tulegenova, Alibek Dnishev, Aiman Musakhodzhayeva and Nurzhamal Ussenbayeva: Placido Domingo, Zubin Meta, Elena Obraztsova, Valeriy Gergiyev, Jose Carreras, Anna Netrebko, Marcelo Alvarez, Svetlana Zakharova and Ildar Abdrazakov. Milan's La Scala Theatre, Naples' San Carlo, Genoa's Carlo Felice, the National Opera of Paris and the Mariinsky Theatre of St. Petersburg toured here.

In 2014, the Astana Opera world tour took place (New York – Toronto — Paris — Antwerp — Rotterdam); Also, the tours took place at the Royal Muscat Theatre (Oman), Graz Opera (Austria); the Mariinsky Theatre (Russia), Teatro Municipal (Brazil), the Roman Opera (Italy), the “Carlo Felice” theater (Italy), the Palace of Arts of Queen Sofia (Valencia, Spain) and other theaters. The 25th International Operalia Vocal Competition by Placido Domingo was held in the capital’s theater, as part of EXPO-2017.

The Astana Opera Theater was twice awarded the title of laureate: the State Prize of Kazakhstan in the field of literature and art for the “Abai” opera by A. Zhubanov and L. Khamidi (2018) and the International BraVo Award in the field of classical art in the “Theater Venue of the Year” nomination (Moscow, Bolshoi Theater of Russia, 2019).

In terms of technical capabilities, the Astana Opera Theater is not inferior, and sometimes, surpasses many theaters in the world. All rooms of the theater, including the auxiliary ones (backstage, various workshops, numerous rehearsal halls) and everything that sets in motion and makes the theater mechanism effective, meet the international standards.

Notice:

The building is located in Astana, at the address Dinmukhamed Kunayev Street, building 1. The construction of the building was carried out in 2010-2013. A team of architects, builders and specialists from 33 countries worked on the exterior and interiors of the theater. The floor, walls, decorative panels and twisted marble stairs of the foyer are decorated with printed Sicilian marble. At the main entrance, the portico is decorated with the compositions “Kobyzist” (bluegrass player) and “Girl with a badge"” by the sculptors M. Mansurov and T. Ermekov. The quadriga installed at the theater building shows the image of the Saka queen Tomiris driving the chariot (author: Kanat Nurbaturov).