The Russian head of state together with his guest, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, had attended Dmitry Khvorostovsky’s solo concert in Red Square the previous day.
The famous baritone singer performed popular Soviet wartime songs, arias from Russian and Italian operas, several Russian lyrical romances and Neapolitan songs. The concert was televised to more than 30 countries.
Vladimir Putin thanked the singer for his great performance, which was duly appreciated by Dmitry Khvorostovsky’s numerous fans in Russia and abroad.
Mr Putin said he was sorry that he was only able to attend the second part of the performance because he was extremely busy. Nevertheless, he had enjoyed tremendously what he saw, the President said.