The Kyrgyz Pavaratti?

This is from last weekend, but I've only just now gotten around to uploading all the video clips necessary for this post. Last Sunday was the 25th anniversary performance of Сталбек Алмасбеков (Stalbek Almasbekov), the premier opera singer of Kyrgyzstan. He's also the father of one of my former students. This student now studies with Matthew, and decided to invite both of us to his father's performance. We received free tickets and prime seats in the fifth row, center. Too bad I'm rather a philistine and not all that big into opera. Anyway, while I'm ertainly no judge of operatic quality, he seemed to be an exceptional singer. I took numerous photos (below), although since it *was* opera after all, I took some videos as well, and have uploaded three short clips to YouTube. The show consisted of two abridged operas, Сельская честь (Village Honor) and Паяцы (Pagliacci).

Stalbek Almasbekov sings Village Honor

Stalbek Almasbekov sings Village Honor


Stalbek Almasbekov sings Village Honor


Stalbek Almasbekov sings Pagliacci


Stalbek Almasbekov sings Pagliacci