The Ho Chi Minh City Ballet, Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) will present a New Year’s Concert on January 09 in the Saigon Opera House, beginning at 8pm. This is also the last program in the 2020 performance season of HBSO, a joyful, colorful show with the participation of all three performing groups: HBSO Symphony Orchestra, Opera and Ballet. It brings new wonderful blessings to the new year.

Conductor: Trần Nhật Minh
Singers: Mer. Hồng Vy, Phạm Khánh Ngọc, Phạm Trang, Đào Mác, Phạm Duyên Huyền, Trần Thanh Nam, Võ Nguyễn Thành Tâm, Nguyễn Thu Hường, Phan Hữu Trung Kiệt
Performing: HBSO Symphony Orchestra, Choir & Ballet

The program consists of colorful items from operettas and other comparable productions.

The evening will start with the Overture to Die Fledermaus (‘The bat’) by Johann Strauss II. This item will be well known to patrons who attended HBSO’s complete staging of this operetta.

Next will come a solo item from Lehar’s Das Land des Lachelns (‘The Land of Smiles’). The title is Dien ist mein ganzes Herz (‘Yours is my heart alone’), and the soloist will be Trung Kiet.

This will be followed by Fruhlingsstimmen (‘Voices of Spring’) by Johann Strauss II, an orchestral waltz with solo soprano voice. The soloist in Saigon will be Pham Khanh Ngoc.

Rossini’s La Danza will feature the HBSO Dance. It’s a patter song in Neopolitan style, with words by the librettist of Bellini’s famous opera Il Puritani (‘The Puritans’).

The HBSO Orchestra will come next with the Intermezzo and Barcarolle from Offenbach’s opera Les Contes de Hoffmann (‘The Tales of Hoffmann’). This well-loved barcarolle is a melody associated with the gondoliers of Venice, because lovers were in the habit of renting gondolas for night-time cruises.

The words include tributes to the beauty of the night – “Beautiful night, Oh night of love” – and the sadness of transience – “Time flies and never returns”.

Next will be an aria from Der Fledermaus, Mein Herr Marquis, known as ‘Adele’s Laughing Song’. Adele is a maid who has borrowed one of her mistress’s dresses and gone to a ball. This song is her response to being recognized. “How could someone as glamorous as me be a lowly chambermaid?” she sings. The soloist will be Thu Huong.

This major celebration of the New Year will continue with an item from Rossini’s Il Barbieri d Siviglia (‘The Barber of Seville’), Largo al Factotum. In it the barber Figaro ironically celebrates his exceedingly busy working schedule. The soloist will be HBSO’s celebrity baritone Dao Mac.

Next will come Non ti scordar mai di me (‘Don’t forget about me’). This was an Italian popular song released in 2008. The soloist in Saigon will be Thanh Nam.

It will be followed by Granada, the song written in 1932 by the Mexican composer Agustin Lara about the southern Spanish city of Granada. The soloist will be Pham Trang.

HBSO Dance will then return with the Waltz of the Flowers from Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker, recently given sold-out performances in the Saigon Opera House.

Lehar’s operetta Die Lustige Witwe (‘The Merry Widow’) follows. The item will be Vilja Leid (‘the Vilja song’) about a forest fairy of that name. It will feature Duyen Huyen and the HBSO Choir.

The Choir remains on stage for the Tritsch Tratsch Polka by Johann Strauss II, a high-spirited piece evoking the Viennese love for gossip (‘chit-chat’).

The conductor of the concert will be the HBSO’s Tran Nhat Minh.

Tickets are from 650,000 VND downwards, with a special concession for students of 80,000 VND on production of a valid student card.

Booking: 028 3823 7295 - Ms. Hương: 098 987 4517 - Ms. Ngọc: 090 360 4539

Online: http://tinyurl.com/booking-hbso-ticket | Website: http://www.hbso.org.vn/