Abai Kazakh National Opera and Ballet Theatre
Kazakhstan's oldest opera and ballet company, in a 1941 neoclassical house with Kazakh ornament.
The company was founded in 1934 as the Kazakh Musical Theatre and moved into its present building, opened on 7 November 1941. The design by Nikolai Kruglov, Nikolai Prostakov and Tolegen Basenov combines Stalinist monumentality with Italian neoclassical proportions and Kazakh ornament. The three-storey front has rusticated walls, heavy pylons framed by bas-reliefs and a high entablature topped by a latticed parapet. The theatre took the name of the poet Abai Qunanbaiuly in 1945 and was refurbished around 2000 with its original character retained.
Repertoire covers Italian, French and Russian opera alongside the Kazakh national canon, including Abai, Birzhan and Sara and Kyz Zhibek. The ballet company performs the nineteenth-century classics as well as works drawn from Kazakh history and legend. Resident forces include opera and ballet troupes, a symphony orchestra and a chorus. The theatre also runs recital evenings, concerts and a small museum, and in December 2020 it was granted national status by presidential decree.
Highlights
- Neoclassical 1941 facade with bas-reliefs of Kazakh performers
- Kazakh operas Abai, Birzhan and Sara and Kyz Zhibek in repertoire
- Resident opera, ballet, chorus and symphony orchestra
- Theatre museum and creative talks alongside the main programme
