HCMC – In collaboration with the Italian Consulate General in HCMC, HBSO is presenting a Night of Famous Italian Arias on March 9 at the Saigon Opera House, beginning at 8 p.m.
The concert is divided into two halves. It begins with an all-Puccini series of items, followed after an intermission by a mixed selection of pieces by Donizetti, Verdi and Mascagni, along with one additional item by Puccini.
Many of HBSO’s leading soloists will take part, including among others Pham Khanh Ngoc, Pham Trang and Dao Mac, plus an invited guest, Silvia Cafiero.
Many favorite pieces are included, such as Verdi’s Sempre libera from La Traviata, Si Vendeta from Rigoletto, and Ah! Mes amis from Donizetti’s La Fille du Regiment, known for its famous repeated high notes.
Among the well-known Puccini items are the arias in which Rudolfo and Mimi introduce themselves to each other: Che gilda manina, Si, Michiamano Mimi and O, soave fanciulla, in La Boheme, the Humming Chorus and Un bel di vedremo from Madama Butterfly, E Lucevan le stelle, the Te Deum and Vissi d’arte from Tosca, and the Intermezzo from the one-act opera Suor Angelica.
Additionally, one item each from two minor Puccini operas, Le Villi and Edgar. Incidentally, 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of Puccini’s death in a clinic in Belgium.
The concert will be conducted by Tran Nhat Minh, who studied conducting in both Russia and Italy. He is currently head of Opera with HBSO.
The guest singer, soprano Silvia Cafiero, has performed many famous leading roles in many countries such as Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata, and Amelia in the same composer’s Un Ballo in Maschera.
Soprano Pham Khanh Ngoc was recently honored by being named a Meritorious Artist, the sixth person in HBSO to gain this award. She has sung the leading soprano roles in many Saigon operas, such as the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute and Zerlina in Don Giovanni, both by Mozart.
Baritone Dao Mac is also well-known to Saigon audiences after singing Papageno in The Magic Flute as well as major roles in The Bat (Die Fledermaus) and La Vie Parisienne. In this new concert, he will sing in a choral item as the wicked Baron Scarpia that concludes Act One of Tosca.
Lastly, soprano Duyen Nguyet is fast becoming known as a soloist, singing among other roles Pamina in The Magic Flute. Pham Trang is HBSO’s leading tenor soloist.
This, in other words, will be a star-studded event featuring many much-loved Italian opera items. Demand for tickets should be high, and patrons will certainly not feel their money to have been wasted.
