HCMC – Contemporary Music and Dance “Adventures of a Cricket”

Mon 09 Jul 2018, 8 pm
HCMC Opera House

From the organizer:

The musical “Adventures of a Cricket” based on the famous story of the same name by writer To Hoai is one of the biggest art projects in 2018 of the Symphony Orchestra. This is a modern opera which was planned for many years by composer Vu Viet Anh.

With the participation of the famous director Pham Hoang Nam, choreographer John Huy Tran, the colorful story adventure and cultural elements of East Asian boldly of the “Adventures of a Cricket” promises to deliver a modern musical – a first of its kind in Vietnam.

“Café Saigon”, HBSO’s latest creation in contemporary dance, will be performed in the second part of the program. The performance lasts around 75 minutes, featuring five women and four men. The setting is a Saigon coffee house in the middle of the 20th century.

Girls fall off tables and are caught by boys, a flickering light reveals silent menace, nine dancers run round the stage to music from the 1950s and 60s, and innovative dance movements are everywhere in evidence.

The action begins with a one-man mime gesturing in front of the curtain to a narrative spoken in Vietnamese. When the curtain rises we see four couples sitting at tables, with the female narrator we heard earlier now plainly in view.

As the action develops, slow motion is common, as are affectionate stares that only half-conceal a possible aggression that lies behind them.

The pre-recorded music is evocative of the era of 70 years ago. There are German cabaret-like songs, including “Bella, Bella Marie”, some highly attractive accordion music from Fabian Beghin and Didier Laloy, and some energetic “bopping” music, to which the performers gyrate light-heartedly.

Protracted affection between one couple then ensues, to the accompaniment of two Joan Baez songs, Plaisir d’Amour and Donna Donna. Baez was an American folk singer associated with Bob Dylan and the opposition in America to that country’s involvement in the Vietnam War (known in Vietnam as “the American War”).

The performance concludes with the dancers in a line at the front of the stage while the sound system plays Louis Armstrong’s 1967 song “What a wonderful world”.

“Café Saigon” is the creation of two Dutch choreographers, Joost Vrourenraets and Maite Guerin, in cooperation with nine Vietnamese dancers from the HBSO ballet.

Program

MICHAEL WILLIAMS Synaesthesia
NORMAN LUDWIN Growing Orbits
VŨ VIỆT ANH Excerpts from Musical “Dế Mèn Phiêu Lưu Ký”
Solo Tenor: Đào Mác
Performing: HBSO Choir & Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: TRẦN NHẬT MINH

Intermission

Contemporary Dance CAFÉ SAIGON

Choreography: Maïté Guérin, Joost Vrouenraets
Music: Loran Delforge, Rudi Schricke, Didier Laloy & Fabian Beghin, James Holden, Joan Baez
Performing: Trần Hoàng Yến, Nguyễn Thu Trang, Hà Khánh Vy, Đỗ Hoàng Khang Ninh, Hà Ôn Kim Tuyền, Phan Thái Bình, Sùng A Lùng, Đặng Minh Hiền, Nguyễn Minh Tâm

Tickets

Admissions: : 650,000 – 550,000 – 400,000 – 300,000 – 200,000 – 80,000 VNĐ (for students, limited offer)
Booking and delivery: 028 38237419, Ms. Ngoc: 0903604539
At HCMC Opera House, 7 Lam Son Square
Online Booking: www.ticketbox.vn