Concert to highlight string instrument, oboe performances

Musician Do Kien Cuong (standing at centre) introduced at the show held recently at Saturday Afternoon Coffee. — Photo facebook of caphethubay.amnhac

A concert, entitled Echoes of the Spring, will enchant music lovers at an art space in Ha Nội on March 4.

The musical night will include pieces by Rolf Loveland, Harold Arlen, Astor Piazzolla and Claude Debussy, besides Gaetano Donizetti and Vietnamese musicians Ngo Hoang Quan and Do Kien Cuong. They will be performed by the Ha Noj Cellist Group and friends.

Some pieces such as You Raise Me Up by Loveland and Bong Len Bong by Cuong will be performed for the first time with cello and other string instruments such as violin, viola and oboe.

"This is the second time we are performing together, combining the Ha Noi Cellist Group with violin and viola," Cuong said.

"Our first performance, held recently at the capital's Saturday Afternoon Coffee, was welcomed and received positive feedback from music lovers."

Cuong composed Bong Len Bong many years ago, based on a northern traditional folk song Trong Com (Cylindrical Drum). It is usually performed by a string quartet.

This combination of string instruments and oboe has made the musical piece popular, Cuong said.

Vietnamese folk song Beo Dat May Troi (Water-Fern and Wandering Clouds) was arranged by musician Ngo Hoang Quan, a leading Vietnamese cellist. Quan was director and cello soloist of the Viet Nam National Symphony Orchestra (VNSO), who has numerous brilliant performances to his credit around the world.

The Ha Noi Cellist Group was established last year, bringing together veteran and emerging cellists who are working at the VNSO, Viet Nam National Opera and Ballet and art troupes around Ha Noi.

The concert will begin at 8pm at Manzi Art Space, 14 Phan Huy Ich Street.

French photographer donates iconic work to Vietnam museum

The French photographer who currently bases himself in the central town of Hoi An has recently donated his popular photo capturing an old Vietnamese lady to the Vietnamese Women’s Museum in Hanoi.

The photo of 78-year-old boat rower Bui Thi Xong in Hoi An is one of the first that Rehahn captured for his photo project called ‘Hidden Smile.’

The picture, which is one of his most well-known photos, was also chosen to be the cover of the first volume of his book, ‘Vietnam – Mosaic of Contrasts,’ released in 2014.

According to the photographer, the photo will enter the museum on the occasion of the International Women’s Day, March 8.

With the participation of the French Embassy, the donation of the 80x120cm photo is also to respect the long-term friendship between France and Vietnam, Rehahn said in a press release on February 29.

This event is at the same time intended to honor the hidden beauty and grace of Vietnamese women, with Rehahn's photo representing their timeless charm, depicted in the most unpretentious way.

A ceremony will be held at the museum on March 8 with the participation of Rehahn, Xong, and representatives from the museum and French embassy.

With obvious happiness, the 36-year-old photographer from Normandy called it a big event in his life when a work of his is shown at a Vietnamese museum.

Rehahn said that Xong is one of his most special and closest ‘models,’ and her portrait has appeared in multiple international publications such as National Geographic, The Los Angeles Times and Daily Mail, not to mention local media.

Last June, Xong’s photo was among two pictures by Rehahn which were added to the collection of the Asian Museum of La Habana, Cuba.

A few months later, boredpanda.com posted an entry introducing the portrait of Xong which quickly received 6,500 likes from netizens.

“Mrs. Xong represents Vietnam in my eyes,” Rehahn told Tuoi Tre News. “Strong, charming, and always happy despite her age and living circumstances.”

“She is the grandmother and mother of all Vietnamese,” he added.

After more than five years living in Vietnam, the photographer has traveled to many places by motorbike and taken over 50,000 photos of the country and its people.

He has also published several books about Vietnam, including two volumes of ‘Vietnam – Mosaic of Contrasts’ and multiple photo projects.

Cartoon contest focuses on gender equality

Young English teacher Nguyen Vu Xuan Lan was awarded the first prize in the 2016 "Gender Equality: Picture It!" cartoon contest at a ceremony at Ha Noi Women's Museum on March 1.

Lan won the jury members' hearts with her cartoon depicting the preference of a recruiter for a man over a woman, even though they may be equally competent.

"Gender inequality is still very common in Viet Nam and some other countries. I hope the situation will improve in the future," Lan said.

The first prize gives Lan the chance to go on a study tour to Belgium, known as the ‘kingdom of comics and cartoons'. Besides tourist visits to Belgian cities, she will meet Belgian Deputy Prime Minister De Croo and several professional artists, and visit international publishing houses.

Nguyen Duy Thanh won the second prize and the Public's Favourite Prize, and Tran Thu Huong won the third prize.

"I am happy that about half of the 116 contest entries were submitted by women. The quality was so high that I thought we would never make a choice! Even without words, the drawings made us laugh, think and cry," Jehanne Roccas, ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium, said at the ceremony.

Alain Devaux, director of BTC Vietnam, said, "Art, specifically comics and cartoons, can be powerful tools to raise awareness, promote positive gender norms in the society for the achievement of gender equality and women's empowerment."

The 116 contest entries were sent from all over Viet Nam by Vietnamese nationals of 18 years and above.

This showcased a high interest among Vietnamese citizens. In their drawings, the contestants depicted their understanding of women's status and gender equality in Viet Nam, and highlighted various gender issues such as the increasing imbalance in the sex ratio at birth because of prenatal sex selection in favour of boys, violence against women and gender stereotypes that hinder the full development of women and men.

After an administrative assessment, 81 entries were uploaded to the contest's Facebook page for online voting, attracting more than 10,000 votes. Forty drawings have been shortlisted for a 10-day exhibition in Ha Noi, based on the results of the Facebook voting (50 per cent) and the votes of the jury (50 per cent).

The contest was co-organised by the Embassy of Belgium, the Belgian Development Agency (BTC) in Viet Nam and UN Women Viet Nam.

The contest was first organised in Viet Nam and symbolically held between the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women that fell on November 24, 2015, and International Women's Day that falls on March 8, 2016.

The exhibition of the top 40 entries began yesterday and will run till next Thursday at the Women's Museum, located at 36 Ly Thuong Kiet, Ha Noi.

Hon Viet variety show gets new venue

Hon Viet (The Soul of Viet Nam) show is now being held six days a week at a new venue.

It is a Vietnamese variety show ranked among the top 80 attractions in Saigon by the TripAdvisor.com. The show includes acts featuring Vietnamese traditional music and history performed by the theatrical troupe from Mekong Artists.

The programme can be seen at the HCM City Drama Theatre, 30 Tran Hung Dao St, District 1, at 6pm, from Tuesday to Sunday. Tickets are VND390,000.

Reggae music show features Singaporean band

Saigon Dub Station, an organisation promoting reggae music and related genres, will present The Irietones, one of Singapore's leading reggae bands, in a music show at Cargo Event Space on Saturday.

The band will perform along with Rajah T, Selecta of Amahoro Sound System from France, the city-based rock band Mekong Delta Force and DJs from Saigon Dub Station.

It will start at 9pm at 7 Nguyen Tat Thanh Street in District 1. Tickets cost VND100,000 for presale and VND150,000 at the door.

Australian cinematographer exhibits Polaroids

Australian cinematographer Philip Rang, who uses Polaroids to photograph, is exhibiting his collection of black-and-white photos on the theme of Paris by Night at The Refinery Saigon.

The collection includes 16 original Polaroids taken at night on December 12 in 2012.

Rang worked as a camera technician in Australia, and a camera assistant with London's BBC Ealing Film Studios at a young age.

He has had 17 years working in the industry and made hundreds of television commercials and music videos.

With Richard Gibson's A Message from Fallujah, he won international cinematography awards at the Rhode Island International Film Festival as well as from the Australian Cinematographer's Society in 2005 and 2006.

Rang is now living in Paris to develop his film culture and education.

The exhibition can be seen at 74 Hai Ba Trung Street in District 1 until April 4.   

Traditional music to be played at L'Espace

On March 12, 8pm, the French cultural centre L'Espace will present a music night of Vietnamese traditional music entitled Vui Xuan-Cung Bac-Dieu Nam.

Vietnamese traditional music has a clear distinction between Northern and Southern melodies – while the northern melodies are quite joyous, the southern ones are more "melancholy".

The joyous northern and melancholy southern tunes will be presented during the night, which will feature five genres of Vietnamese traditional music: tuong (classical drama), ca tru (ceremonial singing), cheo (traditional operetta), chau van (ritual singing) and xam (buskers singing).

Tickets, from VND80,000 are available at L'Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street.

Circus gala honours Int'l Women's Day

More than 50 Vietnamese and foreign circus artists will entertain audiences in HCM City with an extravagant gala to celebrate International Women's Day on March 8.

The first HCM City International Circus Gala will offer circus, puppet, dance and fire art performances from art troupes in Russia, the Czech Republic, Mongolia and the host country.

The event's highlights include performances staged by Vietnamese artists, who in colourful costumes will perform on a stage with light and sound effects. The show includes puppets and stimulating visual imagery.

"We hope our gala will not just dazzle audiences but also offer opportunities for circus artists to share and learn from each other," said Nguyen Duc The, director of the city-based Phuong Nam Art Theatre, the event's organiser.

The show will be staged at 8pm on Saturday and at 10am on Sunday at the Lan Anh Sport Centre, 291 Cach Mang Thang Tam Street, District 10. Tickets are available at the box office.

HRC to host ‘intergalactic' electronic event

On Friday at 9pm, Hanoi Rock City will host an electronic music night entitled Intergalactic Adventure.

The night will offer party-goers chance to experience sub-solar vibrations as they vibe out on grooves laid down by some of Ha Noi's finest electronic musicians, including Dee.F, Nguyen Do Minh Quan, Mukang Fields, Hai Duy, Sonic Uprising, and Tomes. The party-goers then will mingle in the Martian moshpit with original beats being produced live.

A prize will be given to the person wearing the most impressive outfit.

Entrance: VND50,000 donation on the door. All proceeds go to Humanitarian Services for Children of Viet Nam.

Hanoi Rock City is at 27/52 To Ngoc Van Street.

Russians say goodbye to winter with festival

Russian Centre of Science and Culture in Ha Noi will organise the traditional Maslenitsa – a festival to bid farewell to winter on March 12.

Maslenitsa is a holiday for all Russians, an open-air festival where people eat, drink and prepare for bigger things to come. For nonbelievers, it's a chance to shake off the winter doldrums, for Orthodox devotees, Maslenitsa is a time to steel themselves for the somber days of Lent, which ends with Easter.

At the free event in Ha Noi, festival goers will have chance to experience and learn about this cultural tradition of the Russians.

The event will take place from 2pm until 5pm at 501 Kim Ma Street. Festival-goers are encouraged to dress in traditional Russian costumes.

Vietnam to stage Shakespeare’s Hamlet in Singapore

The world-renowned play Hamlet by Shakespeare, which has been performed in Vietnam since last year, will be staged in Singapore later this month.

Hamlet is a masterpiece that has been played countless times around the world over the past four years.

In Vietnam, the tragedy was staged for the first time in 2003. Last year, a group of artists at the Vietnam National Drama Theater decided to bring it back to the stage, adding some small changes to make the play more local.

“The play will be performed in Singapore in late March, marking our overseas debut,” Nguyen The Vinh, director of the theater, said.

The Vietnamese version of Hamlet, which has attracted a huge local audience despite an expensive entrance price, is scheduled to be performed on March 26 at 8:00 pm at Victoria Theater.

A day earlier, the crew will have a press conference to present their work to local media.

“Hamlet is a world-renowned spectacle so we must try our best to deliver it to international audiences,” Ta Tuan Minh, who plays Hamlet, said.

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened to Hamlet, is a play written by William Shakespeare at an uncertain date between 1599 and 1602.

Set in the Kingdom of Denmark, the play dramatizes the revenge Prince Hamlet is called to wreak upon his uncle, Claudius, by the ghost of Hamlet's father, King Hamlet.

Claudius murders his own brother and seizes the throne, also marrying his deceased brother's widow.

The play was one of Shakespeare's longest and most performed works during his lifetime.

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