Domingo to perform concert in Kazakhstan

WASHINGTON, June 12 (UPI) -- Famed Spanish tenor Placido Domingo has agreed to give his first concert in Central Asia in Astana, Kazakhstan, organizers said.

Press-service of Astana akimat said the show is set for July 5 at the Palace of Independence. The concert is to kick off festivities celebrating Astana's 11th anniversary as the country's capital.

"Domingo's visit to Kazakhstan confirms my country's rich musical heritage and high appreciation of arts and culture," Erlan Idrissov, Kazakhstan's ambassador to the United States, said in a statement issued Friday. "His performance is one more milestone in Kazakhstan's remarkable transformation from Soviet times to independence, and it shows leadership of Kazakhstan in the region."

The famed tenor is to perform with soprano Virginia Tola, conductor Eugene Kohn and the Astana State Philharmonic Orchestra.

"It is a great honor for me to perform in Astana during the national holiday -- it's the perfect setting to make my Central Asia debut," Domingo said.