abai's theater (national academical theater of opera and ballet)

They should have some information for English speakers, everything is in Russian or Kazakh. Went there to a show with a group of friends, it was about American Jazz music performed by local artists. The price per ticket was quite cheap but the show which lasted for about 2 hours only had like 3 performances (5 mins each) which were good. The local performers had a hard time singing in English. The design of the place is okay, I've seen much better national operas.

The opera nad ballet house is nice place in center and easy to access. Just went there at 15:00 to purchase the tickets for the same night.There was maybe 50% places talen.Ballet GISELLE was very nice to see - my first ballet ever!

On the recommendation of other reviews, I decided to pay a visit and was not disappointed. I wasn't really sure what I should expect for such a low price (my 3rd row ticket was 1700 KZT, or about 6 GBP) and I hadn't really understood what I was going to see (my knowledge of Russian and Kazakh being just about zero). It turned out to be an excellent production of Romeo and Juliet, with lavish staging and sumptuous costumes, mingling amongst Almaty's great and good, all dressed up for the occasion, in a pretty spectacular venue. Very pleasantly surprised by the production, but enjoyed the people watching the most.

We really enjoyed our ballet (even though we thought we were going to an opera) which was Carmen. Beautiful building. Seats might be getting a tad worn but we thought it was beautiful. Ticketing booth was closed from 2-3 for lunch. 2000-4000t so pretty cheap too!

One night in Almaty en route and I decided to watch the ballet at the opera theatre. It's a large auditorium and stage, and quite wide. But the balcony seats gave a very good view, and provided ample width and leg room themselves. The first floor foyer area is magnificent, and the ground floor lobby isn't too shabby either, come to that.

The theatre is beautiful, great for lots of photo opportunities, and the inside is just as cute! We watched an opera, and didn't understand most of what was going on as it was in Russian, but it was a great experience of the local culture! The colours, accoustics and place just made it an amazing experience.

Great decoration, great performance. Tickets are extremely cheap. Must visit to everyone. Nice fountains in front of the building.

It's one of the most beautiful theaters i've ever been, easy access, comfortable, very good acoustic and the architecture and interior design it's amazing. Check it out: http://www.gatob.kz/ru/

I really love our troop. Also very often there are international guests performing there. Beautiful hall. Must see Anna Karenina.

Perfectly directed most famous Kazakh romantic story. A bit like Shakespeare's star crossed lovers :) . Rich in strong symbols, with great set and music, poetic language could be appreciated through good translation into Russian.

True, the expression 'must see' is cliqued, but if in Almaty, this theatre is definitely worth seeing. Easy to buy tickets, even on the same day and prices are very reasonable compared to western prices (example reasonable seats are $12 US dollars and up as of 09/13). The acoustics are great, very easy to get good view, has disabled (though ramps are steep) access and cloakroom/bathrooms are clean. Bar for intermission way up on top floor in a corner, range of beverages are disappointing.

In general, the theater and performance are great. However, sometimes the best performers are absent and the music is not live. In such cases the theater is half-empty. Ask the cashier, they know in advance if it's worth attending. Across the street there is an interesting restaurant, called Compote, where chefs give master classes. You can learn recipes and participate in cooking.

An awe inspiring experience, the theatre was recently refurbished, the acoustics are excellent and the Ballet we saw was wonderful.

Excellent performance in Carmina Brana and Faust. Kirill Bocearinov from Taskent is one of the best in the world

Excellent junior programme of short ballets viewed from a box. Beautiful theatre a mixture of Eastern architecture and Soviet style.