Maria Pia Piscitelli, famous opera singer, arrived in Ashgabat especially to participate in the concert dedicated to the 210^th anniversary of the great Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, organized by the Embassy of Italy in Turkmenistan together with the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan.

The concert with a full house was held at the Magtymguly National Music and Drama Theater. The State Symphony Orchestra of Turkmenistan conducted by Rasul Klychev opened it with a brilliantly performed overture to Verdi's opera "The Power of Fate".

Italian opera diva Maria Pia Piscitelli appeared in front of the Ashgabat audience in the image of Elisabeth from the opera "Don Carlos". The audience got acquainted with the beautiful soprano of the singer, as well as with the artistry of her performance. Together with Maria Pia Piscitelli, Nury Nuryev performed in the duet of Alfredo and Violetta from the opera "La Traviata". Soprano and tenor blended beautifully in a single sound.

Nine fragments from operas by Giuseppe Verdi were performed during the evening. Incidentally, the composer left 26 of his operas for humanity, which, despite the past two centuries, have not lost their popularity.

The end of the concert was remarkable. The Italian singer performed an encore aria of Lady Macbeth from the opera "Macbeth". Rasul Klychev blew a kiss to the musicians of the orchestra as a sign of approval of their performance. Italian Ambassador to Turkmenistan Luigi Ferrari presented a bouquet of flowers to Maria Pia Piscitelli on the stage. She could not leave the stage because of hearty applause of the audience. And then Maria sang Eduardo di Capua's hugely popular song "O sole mio" at parting. There were many vocalists from the conservatory in the hall, and this song was picked up by students. This ending of the evening impressed both the artists and the audience.