HCM CITY Soloists from the Republic of Korea and Việt Nam will dazzle HCM City audiences with a night of beautiful opera arias by great composers at the Opera House on September 13.

The concert is sponsored by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to celebrate the 33rd anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between Việt Nam and Korea. It also marks the combination and artistic exchange between outstanding artists from the two countries.

The concert will open with an Overture from the opera La clemenza di Tito (The Clemency of Titus) by Mozart, which was composed by him on the eve of the coronation of Leopold II as King of Bohemia in 1791.

Following that performance will be an aria from the opera “Parto! Ma tu ben mio”, an inner monologue combining voice, clarinet and orchestra, featuring soprano Cho Hae-Ryong, and clarinetist Đào Nhật Quang.

Hae-Ryong has won many outstanding awards and participated in over 400 concerts in Russia. She took leading roles in many musicals and operas, such as Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas.

The programme will present three arias, Caro nome, La donna è mobile, Bella figlia dell’amore, Si vendetta from Rigoletto, one of the most famous operas by Verdi, composed in 1832.

The songs will be performed by Korean vocalists Lee Dong-min, Choi Seung-hyun, Lee Jae-sig, and Park Joung-min.

Soprano Dong-min graduated with honours from both Seoul National University and the Cologne University of Music and Dance in Germany. She has won numerous prestigious awards, including the Grand Prize at the Korea Vocal Competition, and was named “Best Young Opera Singer of the Year” by the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

Mezzo-soprano Seung-hyun graduated with top honours at Il Conservatorio Statale di Musica “Francesco Venezze” ('Francesco Venezze' State Conservatory of Music) in Italy and prestigious European academies. She achieved numerous international accolades and was honoured with the Best Female Leading Role Award at the 2024 Korea Opera Awards.

Tenor Jae-sig was trained at prestigious music academies, including Korea National University of Arts and the Carl Maria von Weber University of Music in Dresden, Germany. His reputation is built on a string of major awards, such as First Prize at the International Maria Callas Grand Prix and the Gian Battista Viotti International Competition.

Baritone Joung-min graduated from Yonsei University in Korea and continued his studies at Italian conservatories in Parma and Piacenza. He has successfully performed leading roles in Macbeth and Rigoletto.

The second part of the night will feature soloists Phạm Trang, Phạm Duyên Huyên and Phạm Khánh Ngọc from the HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO), along with Korean artists.

They will perform arias from the operas Carmen by Georges Bizet, Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini, La fille du regiment (The Daughter of the Regiment) by Gaetano Donizetti, and Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) by Gioachino Rossini.

The concert will also feature the HBSO Symphony Orchestra and Choir.

Trần Nhật Minh, who holds a Master of Music in conducting from Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Conservatory, will wield the baton at the concert.

The concert will begin at 8pm. The venue is at 7 Lam Sơn Square in Sài Gòn Ward. Tickets can be purchased at the venue’s box office. VNS