The Astana Opera Ballet and Symphony Orchestra are set to perform at the Sirius – Rosa Khutor International Arts Festival from 11 to 16 July. The tour promises to be one of the highlights of this large-scale festival. The performance venues will be the Main Stage of the Sirius Concert Centre, as well as the Rosa Hall Multifunctional Concert Complex.
The tour opens on 11 and 12 July with Léo Delibes’ ballet Coppélia, choreographed by the legendary French master Roland Petit. Added to the opera house’s repertoire seven years ago, this production is an effervescent comedy in which Petit’s genius masterfully reimagines E.T.A. Hoffmann’s gothic tale. Coppélia is a production where dance is inextricably linked with acting, facial expressions, and the subtlest nuances of emotion. Maestro Ruslan Baimurzin will be at the conductor’s podium. The lead roles will be performed by Honoured Workers of Kazakhstan Aigerim Beketayeva, Yerkin Rakhmatullayev, Arman Urazov, and Rustem Seitbekov, alongside laureates of prestigious international competitions Shugyla Adepkhan and Olzhas Tarlanov.
Two days later, on 14 July, audiences can look forward to a Gala Ballet. Its rich programme features celebrated classical and contemporary choreographic pieces, alongside Raimondo Rebeck’s one-act ballet How Long Is Now?. The piece offers a philosophical reflection on time and its perception, with three pairs of dancers symbolising human life at various stages. Through the medium of dance, the choreographer makes an original attempt to examine the passage of time. The Gala Ballet will be conducted by Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan Yerbolat Akhmedyarov.
The tour concludes on 16 July at the Rosa Hall Multifunctional Concert Complex, where the company will present a programme by Astana Opera soloist and talented choreographer Sultanbek Gumar. This performance, Nomad Ballet, is a striking creative experiment that fuses contemporary choreography with traditional national flair, featuring live accompaniment by the ethno-folk ensemble HasSak.
The Astana Opera Ballet has long enjoyed international acclaim. The company’s dancers have consistently demonstrated exceptional standard of performance, drawing packed houses abroad and securing victories at prestigious global competitions. A defining role in the company’s artistic development is played by its artistic director, People’s Artist of Russia Altynai Asylmuratova, who has led the ballet since 2015. An illustrious ballerina whose career graced the stages of the Mariinsky Theatre, Britain’s Royal Ballet, the Ballet National de Marseille, and the Opéra National de Paris, she continues her extensive work as a ballet teacher and artistic director. In doing so, she
passes her immense experience to the younger generation and preserves the enduring traditions of the global ballet school. Under her stewardship, the Astana Opera Ballet has firmly established itself as one of the world’s most compelling dance companies.
The Astana Opera’s tour to the Sirius Federal Territory and the Rosa Khutor Resort will take place at the invitation of the organisers of the Sirius – Rosa Khutor International Arts Festival for Children and Youth, with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The tour repertoire has been carefully curated to offer audiences an encounter with both timeless classics and innovative contemporary national works, all bound together by the highest level of professionalism of Kazakhstan’s finest artists.
