VietNamNet Bridge – The popular opera Carmen will be performed at the HCMC Opera House on November 8 and 9 by leading artists from HCMC Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) and France’s La Fabrique Opera.

Organizers of Davines Hair Show 2015 are seen at a news briefing last week in HCM City.

The show is one of the signature activities of HBSO this year. The symphony orchestra is under the baton of French conductor Patrick Souillot. Two talented French opera singers, Sophie Leleu (Carmen) and Olivier Trommenschlager (Don Jose), will play leading roles in the opera.

Some of the leading opera artists of HBSO to join their French colleagues are Meritorious Artist Tran Hong Vy (Frasquita), Cho Hae Ryong (Micaela), Pham Duyen Huyen (Micaela), Pham Khanh Ngoc (Frasquita), Nguyen Thu Huong (Mercedes), Vo Nguyen Thanh Tam (Escamillo), Dao Mac (Escamillo), and Phan Huu Trung Kiet (El Remendado).  Artists of HBSO symphony orchestra & choir and child singers from the “Korean Children Voices” choir will be on stage on the second night which is conducted by Patrick Souillot and Tran Nhat Minh. HBSO is expected to wow audiences by their well-prepared music arrangement for the premiere of this opera in HCMC.

Carmen composed by French musician Georges Bizet is among the most popular operas in the world. It was scripted by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy based on the novel of Prosper Mérimée. The opera is set in southern Spain, and tells the story of the downfall of Don José, a naive soldier who is seduced by the wiles of the fiery gypsy, Carmen. José abandons his childhood sweetheart and deserts from his military duties, yet loses Carmen’s love to glamorous toreador Escamillo, after which José kills her in a jealous rage. The depictions of proletarian life, immorality and lawlessness, and the tragic death of the main character on stage, broke new ground in French opera and were highly controversial when it was premiered in France in 1875.

This year also marks the 140th anniversary of the launch of the opera Carmen on stage and also the 140th death anniversary of composer Georges Bizet.

Tickets to the show are priced at VND800,000, VND650,000, VND550,000, VND400,000 and VND150,000 with the last for students only. For booking and delivery, call 08 38237419. The HCMC Opera House is located at 7 Lam Son Square in HCMC’s District 1.

SGT