Luala street concert promises to draw crowds

The Luala concert, a series of free shows performed on city streets, is expected to bring music lovers in Hanoi more surprises when its new season will begin next month.
The Luala concert, a series of free shows performed on city streets, isexpected to bring music lovers in Hanoi more surprises when its newseason will begin next month.

The series will beginwith a performance on December 1 featuring Vietnam's divo Tung Duong.The singer, who mainly pursues jazz and world music styles, has revealedhe will challenge himself with another style – opera – at the openingconcert, where he will stage an aria from the opera Tosca by Puccini.

Beside, Duong will also perform the Bai Ca Hy Vong(Song of Hope) by veteran Van Ky, which requires singers to havesignificant technique to reach its high notes.

Also,to demonstrate his great love for the legendary General Vo Nguyen Giap,who passed away in early October, the singer will perform the song BaiCa Song Lo (Lo River Epic) composed by Van Cao during the Anti-FrenchWar.

Following Duong's opening performance, famouspianist Trang Trinh will be the key artist during the second concert,which will be held on December 8.

After winning theprestigious Sterndale Bennett Scholarship, Trang spent six yearsstudying at the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Uk and was amongthe postgraduates. Trang started her international performing careerafter her debut in London in 2006, before touring perform in Europe. Shealso had the opportunity to sharpen her skills with world famousartists, including Leslie Howard and Jean Bernard-Pommier.

According to Trang, she has never had the chance to perform close toher audience. "The Luala concert will bring me so much closer to myaudience. In another way, it makes my wishes come true," she said.

To support the idea of moving closer to listeners, Trang said she willperform the Le Carnaval des Animaux (Animal Carnival) – a humorousmusical suite of 14 movements by the French Romantic composer CamilleSaint-Saens.

On December 15, the popular Vietnamesepop singer Quang Dung will team with young songstress Pham Thu Ha, whosedebut album, Classic Meets Chillout, won the Devotion Award 2013 asAlbum of the Year.

The wrap-up concert on December22 will feature Republic of Korea (RoK) tenor Park Sung-min, who is thefirst-ever foreign artist to perform in the Luala.

Park will not only perform arias, but also conduct a choir consisting ofKoreans living in Hanoi, to present famous Christmas songs.

Park's Vietnamese wife, pianist Trang Trinh, will again meet Lualaaudiences when she accompanies her husband in a repertoire during thisconcert.

In every show, alongside the performance ofkey artists, a classical orchestra consisting of 30 musicians who,under the baton of the Luala concert's director Nguyen Xuan Huy, willpresent several Western classics, such as Rondo Capriccioso by SaintSaens, Gypsy Airs by Pablo de Sarasate, Voices of Spring by JohannStrauss, and Elegy by Gabriel Faure.

The orchestraalso will perform a special concert on December 14 at Ecopark – a newurban residential area in Hung Yen province, about 13km from Hanoicentre.

The concert is expected to draw an audience of 1,000, most being area residents.

The Luala concert will take place every Saturday and Sundayafternoon, from 3pm until 5pm, in front of Music Publishing House, 61 LyThai To Street.

The biannual series has attracted thousands of people of all ages to enjoy the free concerts.-VNA

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