Вокалды параллелдер

Introduced by Malika Mukhamejan and Saltanat Shoshanova

Set on the Kazakh steppe amid derelict Soviet structures, Khamdamov’s eccentric, politically tinged “film-concert” assembles arias by Brahms, Puccini, and Verdi, performed by Kazakh opera greats Roza Dzhamanova and Bibigul Tulegenova, with Erik Kurmangaliev in drag. Renata Litvinova narrates a feather-light, absurd rivalry: sopranos and a mezzo, jeweled and wrapped in kimonos and furs, escalate one-upmanship to outrageous extremes—even arson. Voice overtakes plot; camp and power play turn ruins into a stage where persona replaces character and the female image is refracted through performance, not role. (Malika Mukhamejan)