Ho Chi Minh City to stage Hunchback of Notre Dame
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“The Hunchback of Notre Dame” will be performed as an opera in Ho Chi Minh City this month in Vietnamese.
The opera’s 20 songs will be translated by musician Ha Quang Minh and performed by singers like Doan Trang, Y Garia, Trung Dung, Nguyen Thao, Le Hieu, and Trong Bac.
The shows, on April 22 and 23, will be held at WE club, 172H Nguyen Dinh Chieu, District 3.
Musicals combining Western opera and Vietnamese reformed theatre -- like “Lan and Diep” in 2008 and “Ngan nam tinh su” in 2009 – have been created to bring opera to Vietnamese audiences.
Two operas were performed this year by musician Ta Dac based on Nguyen Du’s epic poem “The tale of Kieu.”
Singer Duc Tuan, one of the few people to release an opera album in Vietnam, is planning to release another.
Minh says: “It is hard to find singers who can [also] act and dance at the same time. The cost of staging an opera is also a concern. That is why we have not had a real opera yet.”
