Composer Yerkegali Rakhmadiyev first mentioned opera Alpamys on the pages of the newspaper “The Evening Alma-Ata”: “Father introduced me with the image of the courageous hero Alpamys. Among the dozens of epic poems that he knew and performed, Alpamys was the most vivid, alive and real for me. Years passed, and the folk epic poems once again took over my imagination. The events of ages long gone at all times carried the highest ideals: the defence of the homeland and the struggle for peace and happiness of the people. I wanted to portray and convey in music not only the heroic power of the protagonist but also the great, inexhaustible strength of the whole people, to create a large heroic and epic canvas.”
The author of the libretto based on the heroic legend about Alpamys, widely used in the oral poetry of the Kazakh people, was the People's Artist of the Kazakh SSR Kauken Kenzhetayev. From the multitude of variants of folklore tales, he selected the most significant and essential one, which would contribute to the reveal of the multifaceted character of the protagonist. In the musical and scenic composition of the opera, epic features are clearly displayed (the temporal distance between the event and its reproduction, the convergence and collision of the actions of the main characters, the juxtaposition and interweaving of two contrasting worlds – the real one and the fantastic one, etc.). However, all the plot action is centred around an integral and strong personality – the people's defender Alpamys.
The opera premiered on 26 December 1974. Stage Directors – Baigali Dosymzhanov and Vladimir Zhdanov, Designer – Gulfairus Ismailova, Conductor – Valery Rutter, Chorus Master – Bazargali Zhamanbayev, Choreographer – Zaur Raibayev. The second edition of the opera in 3 acts and 5 scenes with the Prologue and Epilogue took place on 5 March 1976.
The opera is opened by akyn-narrator. The dombra accompanying his monologues imparts a hasteless rhythm to the action. The Prologue is especially emotionally filled, in which the suffering Mother Earth gives her son Alpamys a sword, blessing him for feats of arms. The entire musical fabric of the opera is permeated with folk tunes. They are contrasted with rich, figurative- descriptive vocal parts of the opposing characters. Thus, in focus, we see the insidious conqueror Taishik Khan, in which cruelty organically coexists with cold calculation. His vocal part, with its predominantly recitative intonations, is contrasted with the broad and soft melodicism of the Alpamys part.
