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Ermek Serkebayev
Ermek Serkebayev
Ермек Бекмұхамедұлы Серкебаев
Born	4 July 1926; Petropavl; Akmola province, Kazak ASSR, USSR
Died	16 November 2013 (aged 87); Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan
Education	Almaty Music College named after Tchaikovsky, Kurmangazy Kazakh National Conservatoire
Occupation(s)	chamber and opera singer, actor, music teacher
Years active	1947—2006
Awards	Hero of Socialist Labor

Ermek Serkebayev (Kazakh: Ермек Бекмұхамедұлы Серкебаев; 4 July 1926 — 16 November 2013) was a Soviet and Kazakhstani chamber and opera baritone singer,^[1] actor, and educator. People’s Artist of the USSR (1959).^[2] A laureate of the USSR State Award (1977) and Kazakh SSR State Award (1972). Hero of Socialist Labor (1986).^[3]

Biography

Ermek Serkebayev was born in Petropavlovsk on July 4, 1926. His father Bekmukhamed Khusainovich Serkebayev was a Kazakh language teacher, editor of Kedei Sozi newspaper; he also wrote articles and scripts for Kazakh plays.^[4] Ermek’s mother Zylikha Sabirovna Serkebayeva was a primary school teacher, she had a sharp ear for music and a beautiful voice.^[5] Ermek was fond of music from an early age, and balalaika was the first instrument he learned to play.^[6]

When the family moved from Kokchetav to Alma-Ata in 1937,^[7] parents sent Ermek to Tchaikovsky Alma-Ata Music Academy to study violin.^[8] In 1951 he graduated from the singing course led by Kurganov, himself an alumnus of the Italian vocal school, at the Kurmangazy Kazakh Conservatoire.^[9] Ermek Serkebayev worked as an anchorman at Kazakhstan Radio and a soloist at the Abay Kazakh Opera and Ballet Theater.^[10]

Ermek Serkebayev also performed as a chamber and stage singer, singing Kazakh folk songs, compositions by Russian and foreign composers.^[11] He toured a lot and performed in over 50 countries, including Belgium, China, Cuba, Finland, France, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.^[9]^[12] He repeatedly served on and chaired juries of renowned music competitions, including Tchaikovsky International Competition and Glinka International Music Competition.^[13]

In 1973 he started teaching singing at the Kazakh Conservatoire and became a professor in 1982.^[14]

Ermek Serkebayev had been the chairman of the Kazakhstani Republican Union of Musicians and a member of the Executive Committee of the International Union of Music Professionals (Moscow) since 1988. In his autumn years, he combined these roles with that of advisor to the President of Abay Kazakh State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater (where he also continued to perform as a singer).^[15]

Ermek Serkebayev died in Almaty on November 16, 2013.^[16]

Family

Serkebayev was married four times; his son of the first marriage Baigali Serkebayev became a well-known musician and leader of A-Studio, a popular band.

Alfia Baizhanova was Ermek’s fourth and last wife.

Ermek’s brother Murat and niece Jamilya Serkebayeva are other worthy successors of the Serkebayev musical dynasty.^[17]

Awards and honors

Hero of Socialist Labor (1986);^[18]
People’s Artist of the Kazakh SSR (1958);^[19]
People’s Artist of the USSR (1959);^[20]
2 Orders of Lenin (one in 1986);
Order of the October Revolution (1984);
Order of Otan (1997).^[21]

Career

Roles

Birzhan and Sara by Mukan Tulebayev — Birzhan
Amangeldy by Mukan Tulebayev and Yevgeny Brusilovsky - Amangeldy
Abay by Akhmet Zhubanov and Latif Khamidi — Abay
Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky — Onegin
The Queen of Spades by Tchaikovsky — Yeletsky
Iolanta by Tchaikovsky — Robert
Mazepa by Tchaikovsky — Mazepa
The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini — Figaro
The Taming of the Shrew V. Shebalin — Petruchio
Don Juan Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Don Juan
Halka Stanisław Moniuszko — Janusz
Carmen Georges Bizet — Escamillo
Er-Targyn by Yevgeny Brusilovsky— Kapan, Er-Targyn
Dudarai by Yevgeny Brusilovsky — Artyom
Zhalbyr by Yevgeny Brusilovsky — Sugur
Aisulu by Sydyk Mukhamedzhanov — Serke
The Young Guard by Yuliy Meitus — Oleg Koshevoy
The Ulyanov Brothers by Yuliy Meitus — Vladimir Ulyanov
Tulegen Tokhtarov by Akhmet Zhubanov and Latif Khamidi — Tulegen
Zhambyl by Latif Khamidi — Zhambyl
Alpamys by Erkegali Rakhmadiyev — Alpamys
La Traviata Giuseppe Verdi — Alfredo Germont
Nazugum by Quddus Khojamyarov — Gul’mat
Roméo et Juliette Charles Gounod — Mercutio
Faust by Charles Gounod — Valentin
Prince Igor Alexander Borodin — Prince Igor
Enlik-Kebek Gaziza Zhubanova — Esen
Twenty Eight by Gaziza Zhubanova
Song of Virgin Soil by Erkegali Rakhmadiyev

Filmography

Year	Title	Original title	Role
1957	Our Kind Doctor	Наш милый доктор	Taken
1959	This Festive Evening	В этот праздничный вечер
1961	The Song’s Calling	Песня зовёт	Dosay Nurlanov
1968	Angel Wearing Tubeteyka	Ангел в тюбетейке	Chingiz
1976	Meeting at Medeu	Встречи на Медео	Jayran’s father, musician

Legacy

A memorial plaque was installed in the Almaty house where Ermek Serkebayev lived (at the intersection of Jeltoqsan and Bogenbay Batyr streets) in 2014;^[22]
In June 2022 Chamber Hall of the Kazakh National Opera and Ballet Theater was named after People’s Artist of the USSR Ermek Serkebayev;^[23]
A 30-meter tall mural of Ermek Serkebayev (designed by Aydar Munaitbasov) was painted in Astana in July 2022.^[24]