Today, during a press conference in the Government of Kazakhstan, First Deputy Director of the Astana Opera Theater, Toleubek Alpiyev spoke about the events held by the Astana Opera within the framework of Expo-2017.

Toleubek Alpiyev informed that during the International Exhibition Expo-2017, 46 cultural events were held in the Astana Opera, 32 foreign delegations arrived.

Many events were held jointly with the Ministry of Culture and Sports and JSC "Qazaq auenderi". So, with the participation of the actors of the Astana Opera theater, the grandiose G. Verdi's opera Aida, L. Minkus' ballet Don Quixote, Y. Brusilovsky's opera Kyz-Zhibek were staged. The works were shown in the open air on the court in front of the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation.

"This format was chosen for a reason. We set out to create a city cultural environment in Astana," T. Alpiyev said.

A special place among the cultural events held is taken by Operalia, the world contest of vocalists. More than 200 applications from around the world were received from those who wanted to participate in the competition. Of these, 40 applications were selected. It should be noted that 80% of the cost of the event was financed by the sponsors.

The Operalia was visited by the master of musical art, Placido Domingo, it attracted world attention to this event.

"Foreign publications have written a lot about Kazakhstan, and often quoted the words of Maestro Domingo that Kazakhstan, in a short time, made a huge leap forward. This, of course, has served to form a positive image of our country," the speaker said.

Thanks to the live broadcasts carried out by the international channel, Medici TV, and a series of commercials produced by the popular channel Euronews, everyone could watch the contest, support the participants.

As noted by T. Alpiyev, Plácido Domingo performed on the stage of the theater not only as a conductor, but also took part in G. Puccini's opera, Tosca. In addition, Kazakhstani students of creative specialties were given the opportunity to participate in a master class from Placido Domingo.

It should be noted that four contestants upholded the honor of Kazakhstan in the finals of Operalia. Soloist of Astana Opera Maria Mudryak won the third place and the prize of audience sympathy.

Another grandiose project, which T. Alpiyev described, is the performance of Gustav Mahler's Symphony "The Symphony of Thousands", which brought together the greatest creative forces of Kazakhstan and the staff of the Italian Carlo Felice Theater. In Central Asia, such a project was implemented for the first time.

In addition, in the framework of the Expo-2017, the tour of the legendary La Scala theater took place in the Astana Opera, which presented the Falstaff opera by G. Verdi and the Symphony No.9 of L. van Beethoven.

In conclusion, Alpiyev noted that along with the holding of such a large-scale event as Expo-2017, Kazakhstan also managed to show itself to the world community as a developed and advanced state.