KVT – Piaffed in Hanoi
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Little Sparrow on Tuesday
There’s nothing like beginning the week with a Mouron concert at L’Espace. Take a selection of songs by Jaques Brel and a repertoire from Edith Piaf put them in the expressive hands of diminutive French singer Mouron and you have almost two hours of cabaret that Piaf at her best would have approved. It was magic and if the capacity crowd had had their way Mouron would have been encoring into the wee hours.
Accompanied by pianist Terry Truck, Mouron gave us one of those shows that stay indelibly in your memory and I’m still whistling Milord and Ne Me Quitte Pas in between listening to a couple of her live CDs we grabbed after it was all over.
World class again in Hanoi and the best of the world at only 60,000VND a seat.
Dvorak on Thursday
I was really looking forward to Dvorak’s ‘New World Symphony’ at the Opera House conducted by the American conductor Charles Ansbacher. It’s one of those symphonies that comes out in the top 5 whenever a popular poll of the world’s best symphonies is taken.
The night began with a fairly pedestrian performance of Rossini’s Thieving Magpie Overture and an ok rendition of Faure’s Pelleas and Mellisande Suite, though the third movement, the very beautiful Sicilliene, which can reduce me to a teary mess, was less than emotive.
The New World came into its own towards the end of the first movement and almost won me over in the second, that very gorgeous largo. The third and fourth were patchy and the patchy parts were really good but even a rousing Sousa march to round off the night couldn’t evaporate the little cloud of deflation that hung over my expectations.
Falling into Nature on Thursday… and Friday
Dinh Thi Tham Poong makes it very easy to do when you view her delicate yet complex works on paper. She seems to be exploring her ethnic minority roots and she takes us on a very feminine journey through time and space. Her use of plant forms in her patterning is rather wonderful and she often incorporates these around traditionally stamped silk, household objects, architectural features and, in some, a mountain pony. Great pieces for those who love to have their viewing threaded with symbolism.
The journey from the obviously ethnic through the weft and warping of cultures to a futuristic piece that gives her figures a harlequinesque metmorphosis is well worth taking in at the Goethe until the 28th.
Missed Nha San and Hand Oxide on Thursday (because too many things on) and Friday (due to rain) but the thrill of listening to Piaf through the voice of Mouron eased the disapointment.
Not a reviewer, not a critic, “Kiếm Văn Tìm” is an interested, impartial and informed observer and connoisseur of the Hanoi art scene who offers highly opinionated remarks and is part of the long and venerable tradition of anonymous correspondents. Please add your thoughts in the comment field below. |