The Puccini Dance Circus Opera arrives at the Abay Theater in Almaty

(ANSA) - ROMA, 16 FEB - As part of the celebrations for Puccini's centenary and with a view to strengthening cultural ties between Italy and Kazakhstan, the Italian Embassy in Astana and the Italian Cultural Institute in Almaty are pleased to announce the arrival in Almaty of Puccini Dance Circus Opera, a show for choir and instruments by the blucinQue Company, directed by director and choreographer Caterina Mochi Sismondi. The event, scheduled for Thursday, February 19, at the prestigious Abay Opera and Ballet Theater, marks an important milestone in the production's international journey thanks to a special co-production with the Abay Theater, which sees the integration of the Kazakh resident orchestra with Italian dancers, acrobats, musicians, and actors. The evening presents a radically contemporary creation that intertwines opera, symphonic music, live electronic music, dance, theater, and contemporary circus. Five iconic figures from Puccini's universe - Manon Lescaut, Mimì, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot - are reinterpreted through a chorus of female bodies, powerful and fragile at the same time, capable of transforming movement into drama. The show, winner of the Cultura+Impresa 2024-2025 Award in the Art Bonus d'Impresa category, is made possible thanks to the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and a network of Italian companies that have joined through the Art Bonus scheme. "It is not just a show: it is a sonic and visual bridge between Italy and Central Asia." With these words, the Italian ambassador to Kazakhstan, Antonello De Riu, frames an event that transcends the performative dimension to become a diplomatic act in its own right. After performing on the most prestigious stages in Europe—from the Teatro Verdi in Florence to the Regio in Parma, from the Caracalla Festival to the Italian Cultural Institutes in Brussels, Madrid, and Paris—Puccini Dance Circus Opera arrives in Almaty not as a simple stop on its tour, but as a living manifesto of a new season in Italian-Kazakh relations: this bold fusion of opera, contemporary dance, and contemporary circus becomes a concrete tool for encounter, mutual understanding, and friendship between nations," said the Italian ambassador. "Through a contemporary and multidisciplinary language, deeply rooted in Italian tradition, the show strengthens institutional ties by promoting creativity as a bridge between communities and new generations," De Riu emphasized, highlighting how the collaboration with the Almaty Opera House represents a virtuous model in which identity and exchange feed off each other. "Here, between the peaks of the Trans-Ili Alatau and the pulsating rhythms of the Kazakh metropolis, Italian artistic excellence does not just perform: it dialogues, listens, transforms. Every note of the orchestra, every acrobatic movement, every breath on stage becomes a message that transcends linguistic and geopolitical barriers. In a world thirsty for authentic connections, Almaty becomes a laboratory for a new kind of diplomacy: one that is not only negotiated in institutional corridors, but is built between curtains, violin bows, and aerial suspensions. And Italy, with its unique ability to blend tradition and experimentation, demonstrates once again that culture is not a marginal ornament of foreign policy, but its most vital soul," concluded De Riu. Edoardo Crisafulli, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Almaty, said: "We are proud to support a multidisciplinary work of excellence, capable of powerfully expressing the vitality of contemporary Italian creation. The stylistic signature of Caterina Mochi Sismondi, one of the few Italian directors in the sector with such a solid and recognizable language, is deeply rooted in the tradition and culture of our country, which she knows how to transform and update through an artistic vision open to international dialogue. I am also very pleased that this year the Cultural Institute in Almaty, in synergy with our Embassy, has decided to give particular visibility and strong support to the prestigious Abay Theater, which will host other high-profile Italian-Kazakh productions or co-productions during the course of this year. Since my arrival at the end of 2023, I have been struck by the dynamism of the management of this theater, the oldest in Kazakhstan, which is frequented by a diverse audience, including young people. This dynamism has been accentuated by the new management. Read article...

By ANSA