The Second International Opera Arts Festival named after Bulat Minzhilkiyev has concluded in Bishkek.

The music festival was dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding Kyrgyz opera singer. Over the course of eight days, four opera performances were presented on the stage of the A. Maldybaev Kyrgyz National Opera and Ballet Theater: "Aida," "Rigoletto," "Il Trovatore" by Giuseppe Verdi, as well as Mozart's "Don Giovanni."

Guests and residents of the capital were treated to performances not only by the best voices of Kyrgyzstan but also by masters of the opera stage from Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Turkey.

During the concluding gala concert, all festival participants performed famous arias from the greatest operatic works by Bizet, Verdi, Mozart, Puccini, Tchaikovsky, and many other composers. The audience also enjoyed compositions by Moldobasanov, Tolebaev, Shahidi, and other authors. Throughout the evening, the State Academic Symphony Orchestra named after Asankhan Jumakhmatov, conducted by the honored artist of the Kyrgyz Republic, Rakhатbek Osmonaliyev, played on stage.

It should be noted that in October, theatergoers at the opera and ballet theater will be able to enjoy operas by Giuseppe Verdi, including "La Traviata" and "The Barber of Seville" by Rossini, as well as "Pagliacci" by Leoncavallo, and the ballet "Spartacus" by Aram Khachaturian. On November 1, a modern ballet in two acts titled "Mankurt" by Kali Moldobasanov, based on the novel by Chinghiz Aitmatov "And the Day Lasts More Than a Century," will be staged at the theater.