Illustrative image (Photo: French Institute) The opera is produced by the Rochefort-based Winterreise Theatre Company andits partners -- the French Embassy in Vietnam, the French Institute in Vietnam,and the Centre for Arts and Culture Studies and Application -- to mark the 50thanniversary of Vietnam-France diplomatic relations.
The production evokes a thousand years of history of Vietnam and its link withFrance, both countries from which the playwright Huu originates.
The five-act work revolves around Antonin, a grandson of Rosaline, a Vietnamesewoman who left Saigon in 1958 with her children to join her husband in France.
Rosaline’s daughter, Louise, has little memory of her childhood in Sài Gòn [nơHCM City] since she grew up in a new country and forgot her native country.
Louise’s son, Antonin, tries to rediscover the family memory through hisgrandmother's stories, old photographs and books.
The opera will feature baritone Guy Elliott as Antonin, soprano Anne-MarineSuire as Rosaline, mezzo-soprano Léa Bao Ngoc Badillo as Louise, and otherFrench and Vietnamese artists.
The work will also have the participation of Vietnamese cai luong (reformedopera) artists Nguyen Thi Tu Quyen and Ly Trung Tin.
The opera’s music is composed by Benjamin Attahir, focusing on Vietnamesetraditional music performed by musicians such as Tran Trong Tri with danbau (monochord), Mai Thanh Son with dan nguyet (moon-shapedtwo-chord guitar), and Nguyen Thi Hai Phuong with dan tranh (16-chordzither).
Attahir began learning the violin at a very early age and then becamepassionate about composition.
His works are played by various ensembles and orchestras such as the OrchestreNational de France, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, and the TokyoSinfonietta.
He is frequently invited to festivals such as the Gaudeamus Festival in theNetherlands, the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland, and the Festivald'Aix-en-Provence.
Playwright Huu is also a poet and director. Alongside studying literature atthe University of Paris, he pursued musical training at the Amiens NationalRegional Conservatory, which led him to serve as artistic coordinator of theThéâtre du Châtelet from 2006 to 2008.
He then created his own theatre company Winterreise, where hedirected plays such as ThreeDramas for Marionettes by Maeterlinck, and L'Enfant et les Sortilèges (The Child and theMagic Spell) by Maurice Ravel.
In 2021, Huu was a laureate of Villa Saigon, an artistic residency programmeinitiated by the French Institute.
The performance of the opera PaysageDans L’oubli, which is available with Vietnamese and French subtitles, willbegin at 4pm at 7 Lam Son Square in District 1.
The opera will be later staged at 7pm at the Ho Guom Theatre in Hanoi onNovember 28.
Tickets for the show are available at ticketbox.vn./.
VNA
