The concert is a prelude to the FIFA World Cup that kicks off Thursday when Russia takes on Saudi Arabia in the opening match at the 81,000-seat Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

Eminent pianist Denis Matsuev was the initiator and artistic director of the concert, as well as its host.

Russian soprano Aida Garifullina (L) and Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Florez

"The program includes Russian music and famous works of Western European classical repertoires - arias from the operas of [Gaetano] Donizetti, [Georges] Bizet, [Giuseppe] Verdi and [Giacomo] Puccini," the Kremlin said in a statement on the website.

The St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theater Orchestra led by conductor Valery Gergiev and renowned opera singers, including Placido Domingo, Anna Netrebko, Aida Garifullina, Yusif Eyvazov, took part in the concert.

Russia’s first ever World Cup will be held at 12 stadiums in 11 cities across the country. The teams are set to play in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Saransk, Rostov-on-Don and Yekaterinburg.