HCM CITY — Tạ Minh Tâm, one of Việt Nam’s leading tenors, will host a concert at the HCM City Conservatory of Music on November 25 to celebrate his 40-year singing career.

“Live concert TÂM reflects my gratitude to my friends, colleagues, students and fans who have supported me for a very long time,” said Tâm, lecturer and deputy headmaster at the conservatory.

He said the concert would include well-known Vietnamese songs and excerpts from famous foreign operas.

In the first half of the concert, the 57-year-old will perform with Võ Hạ Trâm and Phạm Thế Vĩ, graduates of the conservatory.

They will sing songs praising the country by famous Vietnamese composers, such as Tiếng Hát từ Thành Phố Mang Tên Người (Singing from the City Named after Hồ Chí Minh) by Cao Việt Bách, Những Ánh Sao Đêm (Starlight) by Phan Huỳnh Điểu, and Quê Nhà (Homeland) by Trần Tiến.

The second part will feature O Sole Mio, the well-known Neapolitan song written in 1898 with lyrics by Giovanni Capurro and music by Eduardo di Capua and Alfredo Mazzucchi.

Songs from 19th century famous operas by Puccini, Donizetti and Lehár will be featured as well.

The sopranos Cho Hae Ryong and Võ Thụy Ngọc Tuyền will perform with Tâm, who will end the concert with the composition Lá Bàng (Leaf of Malabar Almond Tree) by Meritorious Artist Trần Vương Thạch, director of the HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO).

Thạch wrote the song in 1998 for the TV series Viên Ngọc Côn Sơn (Pearl of Côn Sơn). It is about the love between the Vietnamese people and soldiers during wars.

Thạch will conduct the live concert TÂM, while Lê Thụy, who has directed several music and television shows, will be the concert director.

Tâm said: “My friends and I have spent a lot of love and time on concert TÂM in hopes of bringing a quality show to audiences.”

Tâm, a native of An Giang Province, became well-known after winning the top prize at the National Singing and Dance Festival in 1977.

He later studied vocal music at the city’s conservatory and graduated in 1983 with excellent results. He also studied at the Canford School in the UK.

He continued to win national and international singing contests such as the ASEAN Golden Festival in Hà Nội in 1996 and the Spring Friendship Art Festival in North Korea in 1997.

He is known for Vietnamese revolutionary songs such as Tình Ca (Love Song) by Hoàng Việt and Đất Nước Trọn Niềm Vui (The Nation is Full of the Joys of Reunification) by Hoàng Hà.

He has also performed major roles in operas staged by HBSO.

Tâm was granted the title Meritorious Artist in 2001 and received the third-class Labour Medal in 2002 for his contribution to the country’s music industry.

The concert TÂM will begin at 7.30pm at the conservatory at 112 Nguyễn Du Street in District 1.  — VNS