Norwegian musicians to shine in HCM City opera
HCM CITY — A group of Norwegian musicians will perform at HCM City's Opera House this week, accompanied by members of the city's Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO), in the opera Dido and Aeneas.
The opera will feature conductor Lars Notto Birkeland, vocal coach Siri Torjesen, harpsichordist Christian Kjos, and the quartet The Trondheim Soloist String Players.
The opera, with a prologue and three acts, was composed by Englishman Henry Purcell to a libretto by Nahum Tate.
Purcell was under the influence of the Baroque period, an era in the history of the Western arts coinciding with the 17th century which occurred in Italy.
Dido and Aeneas recounts the love story of Dido, queen of Carthage, and the Trojan hero Aeneas. It highlights Dido's despair over Aeneas' abandonment to her.
HBSO's soprano Cho Hae-ryong will play Dido, while Vietnamese singer Pham Trang will play Aeneas.
The orchestra's opera singers, including Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga, Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen and Tran Duy Linh, will also be featured.
The HBSO orchestra and choir will be under the baton of Birkeland. Born in 1969 in Olso, conductor, organist and pianist Birkeland worked as chorus master for the Norwegian National Opera for four years.
His CD of works for organ by French composer Jehan Alain in 2001 received a warm response from fans.
Since 2003, he has been working for the Fagerborg Church in Olso, where he organised the Organ Fagerborg Festival.
He is also the conductor of the chamber choir at Barratt Due Institute of Music.
Harpsichordist Christian studied with Knut Johannessen at the State Academy of Music in Olso. He graduated from Schola Cantorum Basiliensis Music College in Basel, Switzerland.
In 2004, he participated, as the first Norwegian ever, in the popular European Union Baroque Orchestra (EUBO) under the direction of Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Andrew Manze, Ton Koopman and Christophe Coin.
He is a member of the Ensemble Meridiana and Trio Stravaganti, two music groups of talented musicians who have travelled through the EU.
Both Birkeland and Christian have performed in several leading orchestras in Norway and Sweden.
The Trondheim Soloist String Players is one of the most exciting young groups on the international stage.
The show is part of Transposition Programme, a music project launched by ULTIMA Oslo Contemporary Music Festival held annually in Oslo.
Transposition Programme offers training courses and stage performance in many countries to help musicians improve their skills.
The show will begin at 8pm on Wednesday, at the Opera House, 7 Lam Son Square, District 1.
Tickets, ranging from VND250,000 to 500,000 are available at the theatre's box office. —VNS