WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2017
CULTURE
B3
NATION&CAPITAL
A scene from “Ahiko from Aktas” play staged in Tokyo.
Tokyo audience welcomes Kazakh theatre with deeply moving play
By Assel Satubaldina
ASTANA – A full house of
800, many of whom waited in
line for a seat, were recently
treated to Almaty’s Auezov
Theatre presentation of the
play “Ahiko from Aktas.” The
programme also featured Uly
Dala Eli, a concert with theatre
soloists and dancers perform-
ing portions of the well-known
play “Kyz Zhybek” and singing
Kazakh songs.
“We came to Tokyo as part of
the Rukhani Janghyru (Moderni-
sation of Kazakhstan’s Identity)
programme and its Modern Ka-
zakhstan Culture in Global World
project organised by the Ministry
of Culture and Sports and sup-
ported by the Embassy of Ka-
zakhstan in Japan,” said theatre
director Yerlan Bilalov as he wel-
comed the audience.
The play centres on Ahiko Tet-
suro, a Japanese man arrested by
Soviet authorities in 1948 while
he was a student. He was one of
more than 100 people, including
women with newborns, sent to a
concentration camp in a remote
area of Kazakhstan where he fell
victim to Soviet purges.
After living through unspeak-
able nightmares, including severe
famine, the captives were re-
leased six years later. Unlike his
fellow detainees, however, Tet-
suro chose to remain in Kazakh-
stan rather than return to Japan.
He married and the couple settled
in Aktas village in Karaganda re-
gion.
The emotional story of their
fellow citizen left the audience
in tears. The hall broke into ap-
plause as the 87-year-old Tetsuro
walked on the stage at the end of
the play.
Director Askhat Maemirov not-
ed the piece was written in a new
dramatic genre.
“Documental drama is well de-
veloped in Russia and Europe. It
is the first time in the history of
the Kazakh theatre that a person
is telling the story of his life. The
play was written based on his-
torical facts. We wanted to show
the nightmare that Tetsuro lived
through, tell about his soul,” he
said.
The visitors included Japanese
fan club members of Kazakh ris-
ing star Dimash Kudaibergen.
“It was incredible, especially
the way the actors played their
roles. Today, I watched the play
for the second time and I am still
deeply touched. I could not stop
crying when I watched it for the
first time. Today, I tried to hold
back my emotions to be more at-
tentive to details and be able to
better understand the history. The
actors are wonderful. Tetsuro
chose Kazakhstan, where he now
lives, on his own. It is amazing.
The play shows us how important
peace and friendship are for us,”
noted club chair Yuriko Volker, as
quoted by Tengrinews.
Japan Foundation President Hi-
royasu Ando noted the drama is
a great achievement for Kazakh-
stan and Japan, serving as an ad-
ditional stimulus to strengthening
friendly ties between the nations.
“Everything was beautiful. The
life of Ahiko was conveyed in a
very emotional way. I would love
to visit Kazakhstan. We are work-
ing on various projects. It will be
great if they are implemented.
We would love to familiarise the
Kazakh audience with Japanese
culture,” he said, as quoted by
Tengrinews.
Kazakhstan President Nursul-
tan Nazarbayev told Tetsuro’s
story when he addressed the
Japanese parliament in Tokyo in
November 2016. He stressed the
lives of many Japanese people are
bound to Kazakhstan and the ac-
count is one of the brightest ex-
amples of fortitude and courage
of Japanese prisoners of war.
Astana Opera
to perform in Almaty
By Yerbolat Uatkhanov
ASTANA – Astana Opera will
be touring to the cultural capital of
Kazakhstan – Almaty. The opera
plans to present a rich programme
featuring world art masterpieces
at the Abai Opera House, the alma
mater of opera and ballet. The tour,
to be held Feb. 10-18 under the
Rukhani Janghyru programme, is
supported by the Ministry of Cul-
ture and Sports.
“This tour is very important for
us, first and foremost, because we
are performing for the people of
Kazakhstan – our native viewers.
Most of the artists of our company
will appear onstage in front of their
teachers, who will assess their pro-
fessional growth. This is another
exam for all of us. In general,
every company needs a touring
life and exchange of experience,”
said Astana Opera Director Galym
Akhmedyarov in an interview with
The Astana Times.
The tour will begin with the out-
standing work of Kazakh musical
art – the classical opera “Abai.”
The production will be presented 6
p.m., Feb. 10 and 11, led by Astana
Opera Maestro and Principal Con-
ductor Alan Buribayev.
“We did not choose the op-
era ‘Abai’ for the Almaty tour by
chance; this work became the hall-
mark of our national art. By per-
forming this opera, we pay hom-
age to the oldest Kazakh opera and
ballet theatre named after Abai,”
said Akhmedyarov.
The masterpiece, based on the
libretto of Kazakh writer Mukhtar
Auezov, is the story of Kazakh
poet, educator and philosopher
Abai Kunanbayev.
The roles will be performed by
Sundet Baigozhin and Zhanat Shy-
bykbayev, Meir Bainesh, Nurlan
Bekmukhambetov, opera prima
Maira Mukhamedkyzy and Sal-
tanat Akhmetova. Tatyana Vitsin-
skaya, baritone Yerzhan Saipov,
Talgat Galeyev, Barseg Tuman-
yan, Bolat Yessimkhanov and
mezzo-soprano Malika Minisini
will debut as well.
The production was fashioned
by Kazakh and Italian artists. The
staging was created by Italian di-
rector Giancarlo del Monaco; the
consulting director is Professor
Yesmukhan Obayev and Yer-
zhan Dautov is chief choirmaster.
Contemporary set designer Ezio
Frigerio and Academy Award-
winning costume designer Franca
Squarciapino are responsible for
the design.
On Feb. 14, Astana Opera will
present “Manon” by 20th-century
choreographer Kenneth MacMil-
lan. The ballet is based on the
novel “L’Histoire du Chevalier
des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut”
by Abbé Prévost. The production
was added to the opera’s repertoire
relatively recently, as the premiere
was held April 28. Choreographers
Karl Burnett and Patricia Ruanne,
keepers of the Royal Ballet tra-
ditions, staged the work at the
capital’s opera house. The music
director and conductor is Arman
Urazgaliyev and the ballet is or-
chestrated and arranged by Martin
Yates, with set and costume de-
signer Nicholas Georgiadis.
The production was added to
the opera house’s repertoire thanks
to the company’s artistic director
Altynai Assylmuratova. She has
danced the title role many times at
London’s legendary Royal Opera
House, working on the portrayal
personally with MacMillan. The
production team responded to her
proposal with great joy to revive the
masterpiece on the Kazakh stage.
Madina Basbayeva will perform
the part of Manon and Rustem
Seitbekov will act as Des Grieux.
Bakhtiyar Adamzhan, Zhanibek
Imankulov, Anel Rustemova and
Arman Urazov will also have
roles.
Roland Petit’s ballet “Notre
Dame de Paris” set to the music of
Maurice Jarre, to be presented Feb.
17 and 18, will conclude the tour.
The production is popular through-
out the world, yet is not featured
in most opera houses. France’s
Les Ballets Roland Petit Founda-
tion has granted the Kazakh opera
house exclusive rights to recreate
the production.
Almaty resident invents Kazakh-style
Game of Thrones board game
Staff Report
ASTANA – Almaty resident Ko-
bylanda Zhanabekuly has brought
“Game of Thrones” to his own
country as the inventor of the board
game Kazakh Khanate. It has been
patented and is unique to the nation.
Kazakh Khanate has 40 different
tribes across a field representing
the three zhuzes (the three largest
conglomerations of tribes in the
Kazakh nation) and players must
gather as many villages and auls
as possible. The game takes them
to the times of the great conquests,
with the action unfolding on the
board. Players have chips, cards
and precise calculations in their ar-
senals and are given 30 minutes to
beat their opponent.
When players’ chips intersect,
they need to battle and resolve any
dispute by resorting to help from
batyrs, sultans, tulpars and sarbazs
– mighty warriors, warlords, flying
horses and soldiers, accordingly.
Zhanabekuly worked for nearly
a year to develop Kazakh Khanate,
which includes features similar to
chess, backgammon and monopo-
ly. Before releasing the game, he
tested the rules with players of var-
ious ages and walks of life, from
7-year-olds to retirees.
“The game is called Kazakh Khan-
ate because you play as a sultan – the
way Abylai, Kassym, Zhanibek and
Kerey khans played in the very be-
ginning. They united tribes and the
more Kazakhs you unite, the higher
your status rises, and whoever has
the biggest number of tribes first will
become a khan,” he said.
Kazakh Khanate combines the
traditions and customs of the Ka-
zakh people. When a player’s chip
lands on the Bazaar tile, for exam-
ple, he or she uses cards with de-
scriptions of different rituals which
help secure the desired territory.
The first batch of 500 copies is al-
ready on sale. Prices vary from 15,000
tenge ($45) to 20,800 tenge ($63).
A scene from “Manon” ballet performed by Rustem Seitbekov
and Madina Basbayeva.