There are big-name theatrical figures on the production team: Music Director and Conductor – Honored Worker of Kazakhstan, celebrated maestro Alan Buribayev, Stage Director – famous Italian director Davide Livermore, Set and Costume Designers – well-known Kazakhstani designers Sofya Tasmagambetova and Pavel Dragunov.

The opera Turandot was performed for the first time on April 25, 1926 in Milan. Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni wrote the libretto based on the eponymous play by C. Gozzi. They set their story in an exotic distant country: the action takes place in Beijing (China). The stunningly beautiful Princess Turandot gives three riddles to the princes. If they fail to solve the three riddles, they are beheaded, and whoever finds the answers will be given her hand in marriage. Prince Calaf decides to woo Turandot at any cost, and, after answering all of her questions, asks her his riddle – to guess his name.

In C. Gozzi’s fairytale, the composer G. Puccini saw a protest against violence and the eternal idea of ​​the victory of light over the darkness.

“I think this is a very important production for the Astana Opera. Incidentally, not every opera house can afford to add such a grand opera, which involves a huge number of artists, to its repertoire. Turandot completes a glorious tradition of Italian operas, which lasted and developed for 300 years. Over the years, G. Puccini has come a long way to this opera, and it can be called the culmination of the composer’s findings. Such operas were no longer created in the entire international community. The choir plays a very important role here, it is constantly onstage, - said the Music Director and Conductor Alan Buribayev.

Maestro A. Buribayev has known the stage director for a long time, but this will be their first joint work. The Principal Conductor of the Astana Opera speaks warmly about Davide Livermore. Let us remind that the director Davide Leavermore during his 22-year career at the leading European venues and in the opera houses of his native Italy mastered many theatrical specialties: stage director, set, costume and lighting designer... He has worked with outstanding performers, among them Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, Mirella Freni, with famous directors – Luca Ronconi, Andrei Tarkovsky and Zhang Yimou, as well as with the world-renowned maestro Zubin Mehta. One of the last works of the Italian director – G.F. Handel’s opera Tamerlano was a triumphant success at the legendary Teatro alla Scala.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/tsm/press/news/details/27742?lang=kk