HÀ NỘI — One of Việt Nam’s leading opera artists Vũ Mạnh Dũng was killed by his wife's brother last night. 

Police Station 113 in Hoàn Kiếm District was alerted to the disturbance at 609 Bạch Đằng Road in Chương Dương Ward at 9.45pm on February 18. 

Dương Quang Bình was reported to have killed Dũng, burnt a motorcycle and used a knife to threaten all his family members including three children. The suspect, Dũng's brother-in-law, was allegedly a drug user. 

Meritorious Artist Vũ Mạnh Dũng. — Photo news.zing.vn

"We cannot believe it," said Việt Nam National Opera and Ballet (VNOB)'s acting director Trần Ly Ly. "Dũng is a talented artist playing leading roles in operas. Last year, he played in Người Tạc Tượng (Sculptor) in celebration of the VNOB's 60th anniversary.

"We feel very sorry about the death of the talented artist."

Born in 1978, Dũng was one of the leading opera singers in Việt Nam. He worked at the VNOB, where he played many main roles in the theatre’s repertoire. 

His roles include Papageno in The Magic Flute; Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte; Collinet in La Boheme and many others.

He also taught at the Vocal Department at Việt Nam National Academy of Music and Military Culture & Art College. 

He won a gold medal at the Professional Art Festival in 2015 and gold cup at the April Spring Festival in Pyongyang, North Korea in 2016. 

He was awarded the title of Meritorious Artist in 2019. He leaves behind a wife and four children. 

His funeral will be held at 1.30pm at Trần Thánh Tông Funeral Parlour on February 20. — VNS