This year, the Operaliya 2026 International Music Festival – running from 21 May until 12 July – is moving beyond the walls of the Astana Opera for the first time. Supported by the Ministry of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan, concerts, opera, and ballet performances will be staged across three different venues. Participants from sixteen countries, including Italy, France, Mexico, China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, will take to the Astana Opera stage over the course of six weeks.
To begin with, Operaliya has long been more than just a festival. It is a significant cultural event with its own distinct identity, traditions, and dedicated audience. The festival opens on 21 May at the Grand Hall with the world premiere of the opera Appaq, the Qypshaq Daughter by Serikzhan and Alibi Abdinurov. This choice underscores a commitment to national culture and tradition before the season moves on to other global masterpieces. For those unable to attend the opening night, there will be a second performance of the opera on 22 May.
On 24 May, the Grand Hall welcomes connoisseurs of contemporary choreography. A ballet double bill comprising Raimondo Rebeck’s How Long Is Now? and Jiří Kylián’s Petite Mort offers a philosophical dialogue with the audience through the language of movement and time. Such evenings are programmed to foster artistic appreciation and introduce global choreographic trends, rather than simply providing entertainment.
An operatic masterpiece takes the stage on 27 May: Puccini’s La Bohème is a poignant story of love, youth, poverty, and the harsh realities of life. Italian Maestro Giuseppe Acquaviva conducts, with Valentina Pravdina from Russia singing the role of Mimì.
Another timeless classic, Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, will be performed on 31 May. Continuing to surprise its audience, the opera house has invited a pair of guest principal dancers from the Mariinsky Theatre – Maria Ilyushkina and Even Capitaine – to perform, with Maestro Ruslan Baimurzin at the podium. Notably, he will also present the festival at a new venue on 23 May: the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation. There, the Astana Opera Symphony Orchestra and the Nutcracker Ballet Studio will perform a children’s choreographic version of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, arranged by Alikhan Idrissov. Bringing together children and the classics is an entirely fitting way to show that the festival is open to all ages and all halls.
Returning to the Astana Opera Grand Hall, the opera gala Talgat Mussabayev Invites takes the stage on 4 June. Marking the singer’s 25th anniversary on the operatic stage, the evening will be an expression of gratitude for the opportunity of artistic creation. Maestro Yerbolat Akhmedyarov will conduct. The benefit performance brings together soloists from the opera company alongside international guest artists: tenor Şenol Talınlı from Turkey and bass Barseg Tumanyan from Armenia.
On 7 and 10 June, Maestro Elmar Buribayev will conduct Adolphe Adam’s Giselle. For the staging on 10 June, a guest pair of principals will join the company.
Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore joins the festival repertoire on 13 and 14 June, conducted by Maestro Arman Urazgaliyev. On the first evening, the role of Nemorino will be performed by guest tenor Nurlan Bekmukhambetov from Moscow’s Novaya Opera. The second evening welcomes another guest, Stefani Krusteva-Pavlova from Bulgaria, as Adina. This lighthearted, effervescent opera is sure to leave the audience smiling and believing in the power of love.
Roland Petit’s Notre-Dame de Paris, set to the music of Maurice Jarre, takes the stage from 19 to 21 June, conducted once again by Arman Urazgaliyev. This avant-garde ballet seamlessly blends a medieval atmosphere with the traditions of classical dance and contemporary technique. The bold, vibrant costumes created by the legendary couturier Yves Saint-Laurent provide a spectacular frame for Petit’s choreographic vision.
A major highlight of the festival’s second half will be Verdi’s Aida, in the legendary production by the late director and set designer Franco Zeffirelli. Performances on 26, 27, and 28 June will be conducted by Maestro Abzal Mukhitdin. On the first and third evenings, the role of Radamès will be performed by Italian tenor Amadi Lagha. The performance on 27 June stars Amneris, portrayed by Anastasia Boldyreva (Russia/Italy), and Amonasro, performed by the Mexican baritone Carlos Almaguer.
On 28 June, the festival returns to the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation. The Astana Opera Chamber Orchestra, joined by principal first violin and soloist Bagdat Abilkhanov, will perform The Twelve Seasons – a programme spanning the works of Vivaldi, Piazzolla, and Podgaits.
A Gala Ballet featuring guest stars from China and Japan is scheduled for 1 July. On 4 July, the Kazakh Opera Keshteri gala, Uly Dalanyn Uly Dauysy, will mark the centenary of Yermek Serkebayev. The performance will gather celebrated artists from Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.
To mark Kazakhstan’s Capital Day on 6 July, an evening of contemporary choreography will present Raimondo Rebeck’s How Long is Now? alongside the premiere season return of Sultanbek Gumar’s Mangiliktin Tort Syry (Four Truths – One Eternity). On 8 July, the audience is invited to a symphonic concert in two parts, dedicated to masterpieces of cello music. The programme includes the Kazakhstani premiere of Sollima’s Caravaggio and a performance of Tles Kazhgaliyev’s beloved Concertstück. Elmar Buribayev will conduct the evening, spotlighting guest soloists renowned across Europe: cellist Eldar Saparayev and his young colleagues Batyrkhan Issakov and Danagul Azhikenova from Slovenia. With a repertoire rarely performed in Kazakhstan, this programme offers a compelling reason to visit the opera house.
The festival reaches its grand finale on 11 and 12 July with Verdi’s Don Carlos. On both evenings, the Astana Opera’s principal conductor, the world-renowned Maestro Alan Buribayev, will lead the orchestra. The production includes distinguished guest soloists: Filippo II will be performed by Giacomo Prestia (Italy), with Mikhail Guzhov (Russia) as Il Grande Inquisitore. The final performance on 12 July will mark the grand closing of both the festival and the opera house’s 13th season.
The Kulyash Baiseitova Chamber Hall will also present a diverse programme: on 1 June, Children Invite to the Opera House will mark International Children’s Day. On 3 June, the Grand Concert Double Reed will be performed under the baton of Abzal Mukhitdin. On 7 June, the Opera Voyage project – supported by the Korean Cultural Centre – will introduce soloists from the National Opera of Korea Studio. An Opera and Symphonic Concert on 11 June will bring to the stage opera soloists Tatyana Vitsinskaya, Rassul Zharmagambetov, and Alikhan Zeinolla, conducted by Giuseppe Acquaviva. On 18 June, the concert Bіregey Tulgha from the Oner Tarlandary series will mark the 120th anniversary of Latif Khamidi. On 7 July, the concert of piano masterpieces Piano Stories: From Chopin to Prokofiev will showcase Bekzat Rakymov, Sanzharali Kopbayev, and Beibars Smail.
The Operaliya 2026 International Music Festival will span three venues and sixteen countries, bringing together dozens of performers united by a single belief: that art knows no borders. Or, to be more precise, art knows borders – only to expand them time and again!
