Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 28: Turkmenistan has staged its first operatic performance since the country`s eccentric former leader banned them in 2001. President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov attended Friday`s performance of ‘Shasenem and Garib’, a Turkmen epic tale set to music.

The ban was imposed by then-President Saparmurat Niyazov, who criticized opera and ballet, among other things, as being foreign to Turkmen culture. He also allowed funding for state-sponsored circuses to dry up.

Berdymukhamedov reversed the ban in January, saying that with increasing development in the Central Asian nation it deserved to have such artistic performances. Earlier this week, state media published a notice advertising courses for circus performers.

Bureau Report