Requiem Returns to Astana Opera after 7 years

Verdi’s exalted, expressive work Requiem, striking in its power, will be presented at the Astana Opera Grand Hall. Famous masters of the opera art – Zhupar Gabdullina and Medet Chotabayev, as well as excellent performers Tatyana Vitsinskaya and Shyngys Rasylkhan will take part in it. Astana Opera’s renowned choir and symphony orchestra will perform under the baton of the Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan Abzal Mukhitdin.

“The performance of Verdi’s Requiem is always an important musical event. This work, written for four soloists, choir and orchestra, requires a special harmony of sound and intricacy of nuance. The last time we presented it was in 2015. The composition is really large-scale and majestic, and it is one of the most celebrated world classical masterpieces,” Maestro Abzal Mukhitdin emphasized.

The famous soprano Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan Zhupar Gabdullina has already performed this work, but for all her other stage partners this will be the debut performance.

“I will perform this very beautiful, but at the same time, difficult part for the first time. It is well-known for the aria Ingemisco. It will be a new experience and great pleasure for me to connect with Maestro Giuseppe Verdi’s brilliant work. In the process of preparation, I faced many difficulties related to vocal technique, but at the same time it was interesting,” Medet Chotabayev, Astana Opera’s principal soloist, Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan and Commander of the Order of the Star of Italy, said.

The uniqueness of this performance lies in the fact that an increased number of choir singers up to 120 people will be presented to the audience.

“Giuseppe Verdi is the author of brilliant operas, so his Requiem was written almost in an operatic style. It was first performed on May 22, 1874 in Milan. Since then, this music has become very popular and recognizable. In this work, great performing skills are required for all the participants, and the choir is no exception, seeing as there are arias, duets, terzets, quartets, and ensembles. We hear that the choir and choral ensemble together with soloists sound separately. In addition, the orchestral parts are also written as if for an opera. That is, everything that Verdi loved in his creative work was reflected here. We started rehearsals in early December, and we are preparing for it very seriously. The Student Choir of the Kazakh National University of Arts also performs with us under the guidance of the international competitions laureate Batyrzhan Smakov. These young, energetic guys, in my opinion, show a very good level,” Yerzhan Dautov, Astana Opera’s principal choirmaster, Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan, said.

Verdi’s Requiem is the kind of music that is impossible not to fall in love with. 7 parts of the mass in Latin text recreate the vast world of human experience of the mystery of life and death. This work reflects such images as the joy of existence, love and beauty, humility and hope, the wise insight of a person standing on the verge of two worlds.

Verdi’s Requiem, along with Mozart’s Requiem, is one of the most performed compositions of this genre.

The concert will begin at 5 pm.