The Astana Opera’s Tour Is a Major Event at the Festival in Slovenia

The famous Astana Opera Ballet Company performed on tour in Slovenia on July 25-26 as part of the 71st summer Ljubljana Festival. The tour program created by the world ballet star Altynai Asylmuratova, artistic director of the Astana Opera Ballet Company, gathered about 10,000 viewers at the Križanke Open Air Theatre for two days.

The evening was opened with classical repertoire. The famous principal dancers Anel Rustemova, Olzhas Tarlanov and the company’s soloist Dias Kurmangazy performed an excerpt from Adolphe Adam’s Le Corsaire. The pas de deux from Riccardo Drigo’s ballet Le Talisman in the interpretation of the principal dancer Yerkin Rakhmatullayev and soloist Shugyla Adepkhan delighted the audience.

The main event of the evening was the performance of the national numbers in Patrick de Bana’s choreography: The Call of the Steppe to Renat Gaissin’s music and Qily Zaman to the music of the ethno-folklore ensemble Turan. Anastasia Zaklinskaya, Galymzhan Nurmukhamet, Bekzat Orynbayev, and Sultanbek Gumar conveyed the national zest, the spirit of the Kazakh people, which were appreciated by the Slovenes, giving the soloists a storm of applause and shouts of “Bravo!”

“I was born in Ljubljana and I can call myself a true aficionado of high art, so the annual Ljubljana Festival is well preserved in my memory. The performance of the Astana Opera Ballet Company was one of the best and most skilled I have ever seen. Bringing together the classics, national numbers, and modern ballet so harmoniously into one tour program is a great skill. In this regard, I would like to thank the artistic director of the ballet company Altynai Asylmuratova and pay attention to the rise of Kazakh ballet. The company has its original style, with both female and male dancers demonstrating a high professional level. I would be very happy to have an opportunity in the future to watch their performances again in Slovenia or Kazakhstan,” the viewer Agata Rečnik shared emotions.

Another Slovenian fan of high art, Leo Lebar, noted that he liked the ballet Sechs Tänze, which was featured in the second part of the tour program. This ballet, staged by the Czech choreographer Jiří Kylián to Mozart’s music, was added to the company’s repertoire last year. It should be noted that Adelina Tulepova performed Karine, Olzhas Tarlanov presented Paul, Bakhytgul Ispanova portrayed Carolina, Daniyar Zhumatayev took the stage as Johan, Lisa – Moldir Shakimova, Patrick – Sultanbek Gumar, Nancy – Madina Kuzhamzharova, Urtzi – Aibar Toktar.