Astana Opera soloist and member of the Bolshoi Theatre Young Artist Opera Programme, tenor Nursultan Anuarbek, has successfully represented Kazakhstan at the 5th International Sergei Lemeshev Competition for Young Opera Singers, securing the prestigious Third Prize. The major musical event took place at the Tver Academic Regional Philharmonic.
The competition spanned three rounds, held at the Grand Concert Hall of the Tver Philharmonic. Throughout the event, the vocalists demonstrated a profound interpretation of classical art songs, folk songs, and highly demanding opera arias from the 18th to the 20th centuries. Participants performed to piano accompaniment during the first and second rounds, while the final round and the Laureates’ Gala Concert were accompanied by the Tver Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. The formal closing ceremony took place on the stage of the Grand Hall of the Tver Academic Drama Theatre.
“In the opening round, I performed Faust’s cavatina from Charles Gounod’s opera of the same name,” Nursultan Anuarbek notes. “Furthermore, the competition regulations required participants to present a piece in their native language, so I prepared Muqan Tolebayev’s art song set to the poetry of Abai Qunanbaiuly, ‘Men kordim uzyn qaiyn qulaghanyn’ (I Saw a Tall Birch Fall). For the second round, my programme included the Duke’s aria from Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto, Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s romance ‘Khotely v yedinoe slovo...’ (I Should Like in a Single Word…), and the Young Gypsy’s romance from Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Aleko. In the final, I presented Rodolfo’s aria from Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème.”
It is worth emphasizing that the musical event featured fierce competition, drawing a strong field of vocalists who have already established themselves on major opera stages. The anniversary event brought together over 150 performers from Kazakhstan, Russia, China, Turkey, Guatemala, Bolivia, Uzbekistan, and Belarus. The creative contest was open to opera singers aged 20 to 35, including conservatory students, recent graduates, and soloists from prominent musical theatres and philharmonic societies. The performances were evaluated by an esteemed international jury comprising distinguished artistic figures from Kazakhstan, Russia, Switzerland, Serbia, and Turkey.
“Representing Kazakhstan and my home company, Astana Opera, my aim was to showcase our nation’s operatic art at the highest possible level. I believe this experience has enabled me to take another significant step forward in my artistic development. Broadly speaking, projects of this magnitude offer invaluable experience to any emerging singer. Although I perform regularly on major stages, there was an inevitable sense of anticipation before stepping out. This is entirely natural, given that the panel included highly respected conductors and renowned masters of opera who have the capacity to discover new talent and extend invitations for international projects. Competitions like this are therefore an excellent platform for attracting the attention of international agents,” the Kazakh tenor remarked.
Nursultan Anuarbek also added that following the conclusion of the competition, the jury members and international colleagues extended their warm wishes, praising the exceptional standard of the Kazakh vocal school.
The accolade in Tver adds to the artist’s growing list of professional achievements. A graduate of the Astana Opera International Opera Academy, Nursultan Anuarbek previously passed a rigorous audition process to join the Bolshoi Theatre Young Artist Opera Programme, where he has been in residence for over eight months. During this period, he has appeared in more than twenty productions and concerts, including performances in Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta, Sergei Prokofiev’s War and Peace, The Story of a Real Man, and The Fiery Angel, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, and Richard Wagner’s Parsifal, among many others.
“The training programme here is exceptionally intensive. My debut on the Historic Stage of the Bolshoi Theatre was in Richard Strauss’s Salome, and another major milestone has been performing the role of Ferrando in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Così fan tutte – an opportunity that was an immense honour for me. On the whole, my repertoire has expanded significantly to include numerous international operatic works. I have also had the privilege of performing multiple times under the baton of the General Director of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theatres, the distinguished conductor Valery Gergiev. Looking ahead, a major premiere awaits: on 27 July, at the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, I will be taking the stage as Antonio – one of the central characters in Sergei Prokofiev’s Betrothal in a Monastery,” Nursultan Anuarbek shares.
This intensive work across leading operatic venues, combined with his recent success at the Sergei Lemeshev Competition, reaffirms the exceptional calibre of the Kazakh tenor’s artistry and marks the next stage of his international career.
