Vietnamese soprano to pay tribute to Italy in her debut concert

HÀ NỘI – Despite facing many difficulties caused by COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnamese soprano Hiền Nguyễn will have her debut concert in Hà Nội next month.

Entitle Yêu (Love), the concert will mark her 15-year professional singing career after she became a student of the Vocal Faculty at the National Academy of Music.

Ambassador of Italy in Việt Nam, Antonio Alessandro (left) seen together with soprano Hiền Nguyễn at the press conference taking place at Casa Italia in Hà Nội.

“Love is not only about affection between man and woman, it's about a positive attitude for every single moment of the life that you are living. I just want all people to know how to appreciate all the small joy and happiness that they have," the singer explained about the title of her concert during a press conference at the Casa Italia restaurant in Hà Nội on Monday.

The singer, who spent three years working in Italy, said many of her friends and family were worried about her decision to hold a concert amid the pandemic.

"While some of them tried to convince me to change my mind, some say that I am brave. The passion for singing burns in me. I want to be on the stage to sing to fulfill my dreams. That's why I will stick with my decision. Only a governmental decision on social distancing and the cancellation of performances can force us to postpone our event," the 33-year-old said.

The soprano said she has nurtured the idea for the concert after her second video music Thank God It's Friday which was released at the end of 2019.

"To nurture the idea to have my first concert I have worked crazy hard to accumulate money for this 'milestone'," she said.

Hiền Nguyễn poses with boyband Oplus, who are her guest artists at her concert ‘Love’. Photos courtesy of the singer

In the concert, Hiền Nguyễn will present a repertoire featuring world-famous classical songs and Vietnamese ballads which will be presented in a very fresh way. All the songs have been re-arranged in a semi-classic and jazz style by musician Tuấn Nam and his jazz band.

"My goal is to present music in a fresher way which can help to access to everyone. Coming back from Italy, I realised that classical music is still challenging for most Vietnamese people. With everything I've learnt in Italy, I want to diversify the way to perform classical music. This is not only my method to create my own style, but also to access more audience," the singer explained.

In addition, the soprano will perform together with the four-member boyband Oplus as guest artists.

As Italy has played an important role in her career, Hiền Nguyễn will also perform songs in Italian, including Parla Più Piano – the Italian version of the song Speak Softly Love which was written for the movie The Godfather .

Attending the press conference, the Ambassador of Italy in Việt Nam, Antonio Alessandro, said he is happy for the singer.

"I'm happy to see Hiền Nguyễn reaching a new height in her career with her upcoming live show. She is evidence of the successful cultural co-operation between Italy and Việt Nam," he said.

While studying at the Việt Nam National Academy of Music (VNAM) and the University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, in 2012, Hiền Nguyễn won a scholarship to study Italian language and culture at the University for Foreigners Perugia in Perugia, Italy.

A year later, she was the only graduate of VNAM to win a scholarship from the Milan Conservatory where she studied for two years.

Returning to Việt Nam in early 2015, she focused on her own family before coming back to the spotlight in 2018.

Her concert Love will take place at the French culture institute L'Espace, 24 Tràng Tiền Street, on March 7. VNS