This year, the Astana Opera turns its spotlight towards the great Austrian composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. From 14 to 23 April, a three-part concert series, Under the Sign of Mozart, will be presented across the opera house’s two venues: the Kulyash Baiseitova Chamber Hall and the Grand Hall. The project’s organisers have set themselves the ambitious goal of exploring diverse facets of the genius composer’s creative heritage.
The series will open on 14 April at the Kulyash Baiseitova Chamber Hall. Ruslan Baimurzin, recipient of the Order of Qurmet, will conduct the Astana Opera Chamber Orchestra. The evening features performances by Honoured Workers of Kazakhstan – principal soloist, soprano Aigul Niyazova and principal oboe Damilya Makhpirova. They will be taking the stage alongside principal viola Tolkyn Kilibayeva and pianist Anara Kamelinova. Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan, principal first violin and associate concertmaster Aisulu Baikenova will not only perform as a soloist but also serves as the creative mastermind behind the series.
“The entire world is celebrating the 270th anniversary of the great composer’s birth, and this significant milestone inspired us to honour him here at our opera house. For me personally, Mozart’s music is life itself; it contains everything from the sparkle of champagne to the bitterness of loss. Mozart led a brief but remarkably vivid life, which was inevitably reflected in his work. In my view, the Requiem is one of the most tragic pieces ever composed, yet for all its sorrow, it remains full of light and hope. Mozart’s music may seem effortless to the listener, but that lightness is the result of a rare union between the composer’s genius and the performer’s meticulous precision. It is no coincidence that his concertos, sonatas, and quartets are staples of every international competition. Technically, Mozart is incredibly demanding: he requires not only virtuosity but a profound stylistic understanding. As the saying goes, every note here is worth its weight in gold,” says Baikenova.
The centrepiece of the series will be the second concert, scheduled for 18 April. This evening at the Grand Hall features a programme including the Piano Concerto No. 21 and the timeless Requiem – the final masterpiece of the composer’s life.
The scale of the performance is truly monumental. For the Requiem, a massed chorus of approximately 200 singers has been assembled, bringing together the Astana Opera Chorus and the Rakhmadiyev State Academic Philharmonic Chorus (artistic director: Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan Gulmira Kuttybadamova; chorus master: Danara Tashatova). They will be joined by students from the Kazakh National University of Arts and the Kulyash Baiseitova College (under the direction of Olga Kryazhevskikh, with college chorus head Dauren Mussin and chorus master Aidana Satybaldy). The soloists for the evening are: soprano Leila Alamanova, mezzo-soprano, Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan Tatyana Vitsinskaya, tenor Alikhan Zeinolla, and bass Sargis Bazhbeuk-Melikyan. The Astana Opera’s principal chorus master, Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan Yerzhan Dautov will lead the soloists, orchestra, and joint chorus. Dinara Sartai will perform the solo part in the concerto.
“This is not our first collaboration, so we haven’t encountered any significant difficulties. The guest ensembles are led by colleagues who come from the same choral tradition. They are all students or followers of the celebrated chorus master, People’s Artist of the USSR, Professor of the Qurmanghazy Kazakh National Conservatory Anatoly Molodov. I interpret the Requiem exactly as he has taught me. Molodov studied in the early 20th century under teachers from the 19th century, who were even closer to the composer’s own era. As is well known, the Requiem is performed in Italianate Latin, which is relatively straightforward as the text is traditional,” the principal chorus master explained.
“When selecting the repertoire, we kept the composer’s significant anniversary in mind. If one were to choose a truly renowned work for chorus and orchestra, it would undoubtedly be the Requiem – Mozart’s final composition. The second work on the programme, Piano Concerto No. 21, is one of his later concertos: a mature, large-scale masterpiece. One can sense the composer’s troubled fate within it, particularly in the second movement. We selected these two works specifically as they both belong to his late Viennese period. Our colleague, the amazing pianist Dinara Sartai, will perform the solo part; she is a versatile musician, equally at home as both an accompanist and a soloist,” emphasised Yerzhan Dautov.
The series will conclude in a chamber format on 23 April. The Chamber Orchestra returns to the stage, this time under the baton of Italian Maestro Giuseppe Acquaviva. They will be joined by a distinguished group of soloists: violinist Aisulu Baikenova, principal flute Alexey Kossyrev, principal bassoon Asset Neldybayev, horn player Darkhan Tuzelbekov, and principal harp Liubov Tkachenko.
“All our concerts are, of course, united by the composer’s genius. We wanted to present the audience with as many facets of his legacy as possible. While it is a pity we cannot cover his entire body of work in just three concerts, this programme still showcases his incredible diversity. Each evening offers a completely different experience, ranging from choral and vocal works to instrumental and orchestral music,” concluded Aisulu Baikenova, the creative force behind the project.
