The New Year is almost upon us and there is no better way to celebrate its arrival than with music. But what kind? While there are several songs associated with the holiday, unlike Christmas, there isn’t an entire genre of music dedicated to New Years. This presents the Ho Chi Minh City Ballet and Orchestra (HBSO) with a great opportunity to simultaneously present timeless favorites to audiences while introducing others to a thrilling genre of music: Spanish and Italian Pop Opera on January 6, 2024.

Spanish and Italian Pop Opera refers to music that blends elements of classical opera with contemporary pop music, highlighting some of the most beloved elements of each. The genre is thus characterized by soaring vocal performances, lush orchestration, and melodies that draw from the rich traditions of Spanish and Italian opera while incorporating modern pop sensibilities and songwriting.

Many historians date the origins of Italian Pop Opera to the early 1900s when Italian immigrants to America fused their traditional opera-style music with emerging pop trends in their new home. Experts also observed a surge in popularity, particularly the inclusion of Spanish Opera, in the 1990s when global music trends encouraged greater cross-cultural pollination of sounds and styles. The genre has proven particularly well suited to cinematic scores and scenes and thus some of the biggest hits are connected with blockbuster films.

One of the defining features of this genre is the use of operatic vocal techniques, such as bel canto and vibrato, in the context of contemporary pop songs. The combination of powerful vocals, often in multiple languages, and accessible pop melodies has attracted a diverse and global audience. On January 6, the HBSO’s will perform 18 songs representing or related to Spanish and Italian Pop operas performed by an array of accomplished Vietnamese artists. Audiences will certainly recognize many of the hits such as “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,” as made popular by Madonna in the 1996 film ‘Evita.’ Other film score numbers include "Nella Fantasia" from the 1986 film ‘The Mission’ and “Oblivion” from the 1984 Italian film 'Enrico IV.’ Of course, breakout hits unrelated to cinema, such as "Hasta Mi Final" by Steve Mac , Wayne Hector and Rudy Pérez as well as “Regresa a Mi," a Spanish remix of the popular Toni Braxton song, “Unbreak my Heart” will be played.

In addition to songs that typify the genre, some selections will look back at the styles and genres that influenced Spanish and Italian Pop Opera or rest outside narrow definitions of it, such as Tchaikovsky’s Spanish Dance (Act III, no. 21), Tango in D, Op. 165, No. 2, by Isaac Albéniz, Arturo Márquez’s Daz’s Danzón No. 2 and the classic La Vie en Rose.

The evening will be conducted by Lê Phi Phi. A Hanoin conductor who studied in Moscow before taking a position as a Conductor and Music Instructor in the Republic of North Macedonia (former Yugoslavia), where he currently resides. Award-winning solo sopranist, Phạm Khánh Ngọc as well as lead performer in numerous HBSO performances, Duyên Nguyệt, will perform for several songs. They will be joined by tenor Phạm Trang, baritone Đào Mác, tenor Trần Thanh Nam and Trần Duy Lin.

The HBSO’s performance of Spanish and Italian Pop Opera promises to be a spellbinding celebration of not just an exciting genre of music, but the importance of music in holidays and celebrations. The show is a great beginning to a year filled with inspiring art and performance in Saigon.