The country's first post-Soviet president, the autocratic and eccentric Sapurmurat Niyazov, banned opera in 2001 as "incompatible with Turkmen mentality." His successor (and former dentist), Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, maintained the ban until this week, when Pagliacci was presented as part of a joint Italian-Turkmen cultural festival. " Yahoo! (AFP)
SOURCE: ArtsJournal at 10:42AM on November 20, 2019