Soprano Trần Nguyễn Kim Ngân, a graduate of the N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in Saint Petersburg, Russia, will perform in the Spring Concert hosted by the HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera at the Opera House on March 14. — Photo courtesy of HBSO

HCM CITY — Guest artists and soloists from the HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) will present a musical journey in which masterpieces of opera and timeless symphonies celebrate the new year at the Opera House on March 14.

The Spring Concert will open with Gold and Silver Waltz op. 79 by Franz Lehár, a piece that captivated European concert halls in the early 20th century, featuring the HBSO Symphony Orchestra.

HBSO soprano Phạm Khánh Ngọc and guest trumpet player Tormod Asgard from Norway will perform the aria Let the Bright Seraphim from Samson, a three-act oratorio from 1743 by George Frideric Handel, considered to be one of his finest dramatic works.

Ngọc and South Korean vocalist Cho Hae-Ryong will present the famous duet Mira, o Norma from Vincenzo Bellini's opera Norma, one of the most emotionally rich and technically refined bel canto masterpieces.

The night will feature Aria of the Shamakhan Queen, a famous soprano aria from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s 1909 opera, The Golden Cockerel, performed by guest artist Trần Nguyễn Kim Ngân.

Ngân is a graduate of the N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in Saint Petersburg, Russia. She has won top awards at competitions in Việt Nam and Russia, such as first prize at the National Chamber Music Singing Competition 2025 and a special award from the Elena Obraztsova Cultural Centre in 2025.

Soprano Phạm Duyên Huyền will introduce aria Vilja-Lied (Vilja Song) from Franz Lehár's operetta Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow), and then join tenor Phạm Trang in a duet Tanzen möcht’ ich (I Want to Dance) from Emmerich Kálmán's operetta Die Csárdásfürstin (The Gypsy Princess).

Trumpet player Tormod Asgard from Norway will participate in the concert. — File photo from europe.yamaha.com

HBSO Symphony Orchestra will introduce Farandole from L'Arlésienne (The woman from Arles), an incidental music piece composed by Georges Bizet for Alphonse Daudet's drama of the same name, and Danzón No 2, a Latin American symphony by Arturo Márquez.

The concert will end with the Introduction and Chorus from Pietro Mascagni's opera Cavalleria Rusticana (Rustic Chivalry) and Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance Marches, featuring a majestic melody wishing for a prosperous and aspirational new year.

Conductor Trần Nhật Minh, head and chorusmaster of the HBSO Opera, will lead the concert.

Minh graduated in chorus conducting from the Magnitogorsk State Conservatory in Russia and earned his Master of Arts at Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Conservatory in 2007. He has collaborated with international symphony orchestras and has received numerous honours.

The concert will begin at 8pm at 7 Lam Sơn Square in Sài Gòn Ward. — VNS