Uljan Baibusynova is an exceptional musician and bard. She is recog-nised as one of the finest interpreters of the almost forgotten art of epic song of the jyrau lyric poets of Kazakhstan. An icon in her home country, she appeared here during the Ruhrtriennale Festival in Peter Sellars's The Children of Herakles in 2002 and is now rapidly coming to the attention of Western audiences.