Astana Opera

Astana Opera (Kazakh: Астана Oпера) is a newly constructed opera house in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, on the basis of an executive order of Nursultan Nazarbayev.[4]

Astana Opera
Астана Oпера
General information
StatusComplete
LocationNur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
Coordinates51°8′8″N 71°24′39.3″E
Groundbreaking2010
Inaugurated2013
Cost$300 million[1]
Height
Top floor32 m
Dimensions
Other dimensionsScene area of 3.000 m²
Technical details
Floor area64.163 m²
Design and construction
Architecture firmArlotti-Beccu-Desideri-Raimondo (ABDR)[2]
Services engineerTheatreplan[3]
Main contractorMabetex Group
Other information
Seating capacity1250 (Opera Hall), 250 (Chamber Hall)
Website
astanaopera.kz

History of design and construction

The design has been partially made by Nursultan Nazarbayev, and the construction began on 6 July 2010[4] under direction of Mabetex Group.[5] It has been built on a 9 ha site. The opera house opened in 2013, the inaugurative representation being the Kazakh opera Birzhan and Sara.[6] The acoustics of the theatre is considered one of the best in the world and it was designed by the Italian Enrico Moretti [7] (Biobyte [8]) and Maria Cairoli.

Description

The opera house includes two halls:

  • the Main Hall (1250 seats), which hosts opera and ballet performances, and has an orchestra pit with room for up to 120 musicians,
  • the Chamber Hall (250 seats), for chamber music concerts.[9]

It is the second newly built opera in Astana, as the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, hosting a 1500 seats opera hall, has been achieved in 2006. It is considered the third biggest opera in the world;[2] one of its remarkable characteristics is the 1.6 ton chandelier hanging in the 13 m high concourse. The opera house has also several facilities, such as a restaurant and all installations required for the troupe's rehearsals. The style of the opera is inspired of the Italian theaters of the 19th century, but also include typical elements of the national heritage, such as frescos of Sharyn Canyon and Burabay.[4]

Troupe and repertoire

The opera house hosts its own orchestra and ballet and opera troupe, playing mostly classical opera; their repertoire includes majors classical pieces, such as the opera La traviata or Tosca and the ballet The Nutcracker, but also national pieces, such as the operas Abai and Birzhan and Sara.[10] The orchestra is composed at 90% of young musicians. The troupe has been in a tour 2014, showing in New York City,[11] Toronto and Paris.[12]

Here are some videos recorded inside the opera house or in the nearby area:

  1. Astana Opera House
  2. Sara Birzhan performance
  3. Ballet performance in Astana Opera House
  4. Celebration of victory day in front of Astana Opera House

See also

References
  1. The 300 million dollars theatre Astana Opera prepares for new season, zakon.kz, 8 September 2013. (Russian)
  2. City on the Steppe: Astana’s Architectural Wonders, edge.kz.
  3. State Theatre of Opera and Ballet, Astana Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, official site of theatreplan.
  4. In the backstage of Astana Opera, vox populi, 21 November 2013. (Russian)
  5. Astana Offers World Class Opera House.
  6. Curtain up at Astana Opera, euronews, 24 June 2013.
  7. "Enrico Moretti's biography on the official website". biobyte.net. Archived from the original on 2017-03-13.
  8. "official website of Biobyte srl". biobyte.net.
  9. Opera and Ballet Theatre “Astana Opera” Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, culture map.
  10. Repertoire Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, Astana Opera official website.
  11. Astana Opera on New York's Cultural Radar Screen, the Huffington Post, 26 October 2014.
  12. Chœur & Orchestre d'Astana Opera - Paris (Bastille), Forum Opera, 2 November 2014. (French)
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