The first mono opera in the history of Kazakhstan was dedicated to Abai Kunanbayev and Mukhtar Auezov.

The premiere of the mono opera by the well-known Kazakh vocalist Shakhimardan Abilov took place in Pavlodar.  The Honored Artist of the Republic devoted his "musical reflections" to Mukhtar Auezov's novel "The Path of Abai", 80 years have passed since its publication.

The concert was held at the Regional Philharmonic named after Isa Baizakov.  It consisted of three blocks, in one of which Shakhimardan Abilov performed 15 works by Abai Kunanbayev from the stage.  During the mono opera, the audience tried not to applaud.  Shakhimardan Abilov explained this by saying that the audience needed to be inspired by Abai's lyrics.

“Today, few people read Abai, do not go deep into his philosophy, although Abai is a personality of a planetary scale,” the opera singer says.  - We gathered to play music and think.  But our main large-scale goal, as Abai himself said, is to educate the youth and help them.

In the year of the 125th anniversary of the birth of Mukhtar Auezov and the 80th anniversary of the publication of his novel "The Path of Abai", Shakhimardan Abilov decided to dedicate his mono opera to these important dates.  The vocalist first of all decided to present his "musical reflections" to the public in his native Pavlodar region.  They will be heard not only in Pavlodar, but also in Ekibastuz, Bayanaul and Shcherbakty regions.  On May 18, the mono opera will be staged at the Opera and Ballet Theatre named after Abai in Almaty.