Van der Bellen made the remarks at a joint press conference after meeting with Niinisto, his guest at the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year Concert, Austrian Press Agency reported. "It will show whether Europe is moving in the direction of nationalism, thereby weakening itself" or whether the member states will be aware of what European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker meant in his speech on the state of the European Union (EU) last September, Van der Bellen said. The EU can not just leave the world to other major powers and that's why EU has to act united, Niinisto noted. In his final State of the Union Address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg last September, Juncker urged the EU to take control of its destiny, and claim a place at the center stage of global politics. "We will always be a global player but it is time we started being a global player too," he said. … [Read more...] about EU election crucial for Europe’s role: Austrian president
Vienna new years concert
HCMC Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera to perform operatic extracts
The HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) will perform operatic extracts by well-known composers at the HCM City Opera House on July 29. Conductor Tran Vuong Thach The Opera Gala Night concert will open with Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), a four-act opera composed in 1786. It premiered in Vienna in the same year. The first part of the programme will feature Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona (The Servant Turned Mistress) and Rossini’s La Cenerentola (Cinderella) and Sermiramide. The second part will be extracts from Bizet’s operas Les pecheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) and Carmen. Works by Intermezzo, Strauss, Bellini, Offenbach, Donizetti and Verdi will also be included. The performance will feature Meritorious Artist Tran Hong Vy, South Korean soprano Cho Hae Ryong, soprano Ngoc Tuyen, tenor Tran Duy Linh, and Vo Nguyen Thanh Tam. They will perform along with HBSO under the baton of conductor Tran … [Read more...] about HCMC Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera to perform operatic extracts
What’s on July 31-August 6 (Daily updated)
MUSIC & PERFORMANCES HCMC- Performance by ASEAN bands at SoundSlam Festival 2017 Pink Lotus Stage, September 23 Park in District 1. Fifteen rock bands from ASEAN countries as well as Japan will play at Vietnam’s biggest rock concert, the SoundSlam Festival 2017. They include 10 groups from HCM City and Hanoi such as Lolotica, Hac San, Windrunner and Proportions. The concert will feature Nightmare AD from Cambodia, Every Rage I Seek from Singapore, Fathomless and Sinners Turned Saints from Thailand, and Earthists from Japan. Pre-sale tickets of 120,000 VND can be purchased at www.ticketbox.vn, while tickets at the door are 180,000 VND. Hanoi-Musical Performance “A Bullet for My Valentine” Jul 31 and Aug 1, 8pm Youth Theatre 11 Ngo Thi Nham Street, Hai Ba Trung District The performance is about 17-year-old Hayley Brown who was locked up in a juvenile rehabilitation centre in the early 1930s. After a failed escape attempt, she comes under the radar of … [Read more...] about What’s on July 31-August 6 (Daily updated)
HBSO celebrates 45 years of VN-Belgium diplomatic ties
Viet Nam News HCM CITY — The HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) will host a concert on July 19 at the Opera House to mark 45 years of establishing diplomatic relations between Việt Nam and Belgium. The concert will open with the song Lied of Mignon composed by Belgian conductor Lodewijk Mortelmans with lyrics from the poem Mignon, Kennst du das Land (Mignon, Do You Know the Land) by German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It will be followed by two excerpts Release and Les Langues de Feu (The Fire of Languages) from Cinq Melodies (Five Melodies), Op 57 by Belgian composer and music educator Joseph Jongen. The songs will be performed by South Korean soprano Cho Hae Ryong, a graduate of Novosibirsk State Conservatory in Russia. Cho is a lecturer of vocal studies at the HCM City Conservatory of Music. Clarinetist Hoàng Ngọc Quân Anh, a new graduate of Maastricht Academy of Music in the Netherlands, will continue the performance with … [Read more...] about HBSO celebrates 45 years of VN-Belgium diplomatic ties
Magic Flute to be restaged at Opera House
Mozart’s most famous opera The Magic Flute will be restaged at the Ho Chi Minh City Opera House on June 9 and 10. Vocalists from the HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera will perform the opera The Magic Flute at the Opera House on June 9 and 10. (Photo courtesy of HBSO) The two-act opera is a production of the HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) in collaboration with the Goethe Institute in Vietnam. The Magic Flute tells the love story of Prince Tamino and Pamina, daughter of the Queen of the Night. After Pamina is held in captivity under the high priest Sarastro, the Queen of the Night persuades Tamino to rescue his daughter. The opera premiered in 1791 in Vienna, and has been staged by hundreds of theatre companies in the world, such as The Metropolitan Opera, Opéra National de Paris, and Deutsche Oper Berlin. With the support of Norway’s Transposition Programme, HBSO introduced the concert version of The Magic Flute in HCM City in … [Read more...] about Magic Flute to be restaged at Opera House