Astana Opera () is an

opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

Astana Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

, on the basis of an executive order of

Nursultan Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev (born 6 July 1940) is a Kazakhstani politician who served as the first president of Kazakhstan from 1991 to 2019. He also held the special title of Elbasy from 2010 to 2022 and chairman of the Security Council of ...

History of design and construction

The design has been partially made by

, and the construction began on 6 July 2010In the backstage of Astana Opera
''vox populi'', 21 November 2013. (Russian) under direction of Mabetex Group. The Opera House sits on a 9 ha site. The opera house opened in 2013, the inaugurative representation being the Kazakh opera Birzhan and Sara. The acoustics of the theatre is considered one of the best in the world and it was designed by the Italian Enrico Moretti (Biobyte ) 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. It is the second newly built opera house in Astana, as the

Palace of Peace and Reconciliation The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation (, ''Beibıtşılık pen kelısım saraiy''), also translated as the ''Pyramid of Peace and Accord'', is a pyramid in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, since 2019, that serves as a non-denominational natio ...

, hosting a 1500 seats opera hall, was completed in 2006. It is considered the third biggest opera house in the world;City on the Steppe: Astana’s Architectural Wonders
, ''edge.kz''. 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 house is inspired by the Ancient Greek architecture,but also include typical elements of the national heritage, such as frescos of Sharyn Canyon and Burabay.

Troupe and repertoire

The opera house hosts its own orchestra, ballet, and opera troupe, performing mostly opera. Their repertoire includes major pieces, such as the operas '' La traviata'' or ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

'' and the ballet ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...

'', but also national pieces, such as the operas '' Abai'' and '' Birzhan and Sara''. The orchestra is 90% young musicians. The troupe was on tour in 2014, performing in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

.Chœur & Orchestre d'Astana Opera - Paris (Bastille)
''Forum Opera'', 2 November 2014. (French)

References

{{authority control Opera houses in Kazakhstan Buildings and structures in Astana Buildings and structures completed in 2013 2013 establishments in Kazakhstan

History of design and construction

Description

Troupe and repertoire

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See also

References