If I change my Apple ID from x@icloud.com to y@provider.net, will I still have access x@icloud.com?

I want to update the email associated with my Apple ID because I no longer use x@icloud.com, the email created with my Apple ID. However because I have had x@icloud.com for a long time, I want to make sure that I will still have access to it as a email account even if it is not my Apple ID. Is this possible, and if so how would it work?