Theaters in city to stage children dramas

Ho Chi Minh City theaters are preparing several new plays featuring magic and fairy tales for children during the long summer vacation that begins in the middle of May.

Idecaf theater will present a play titled “An Ly and Ice Genie” at Ben Thanh Stage Theater from May 27 to June 26. Taking part in the play will be well known artists like Thanh Loc, Huu Chau, My Duyen, Dai Nghia, Le Khanh and Đình Toàn. More than 2,000 tickets will be donated to disadvantaged children in the city.

Hoang Thai Thanh Stage Theater expects to attract children with the play “A stray ant” which will start on May 29. Famous actors and actresses Thanh Hoi, Ai Nhu, Van Anh, Kim Hien, Quoc Thinh will participate in the show.

Ho Chi Minh City Circus Art Troupe and HCM City Puppetry Art Troupe will join hands to stage the play titled “Gulliver’s Travels” at the September 23rd (23/9) Park. The first performance will take place on May 28.

Most of the theaters are trying to improve the quality of the scripts and make the dramas more interesting to attract children this summer.

Int’l documentary festival in Hanoi, HCM City

Vietnam will send seven films to the third International Documentary Film Festival, to be shown in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City from June 8-14.

These films are Dieu mua co (Ancient dance) and Ken dong (Bronze trumpet) by director Nguyen Van Huong, Loi ru thi buon (Blue lullaby) by Mac Van Chung, Khoang cach (Distance) by Tran Phi, Di de thay (Go to see) by Dao Thanh Tung and Phan Huyen Thu and Chuyen cua moi nha (Affairs of every household), and Dat lanh (Freezing land) by Nguyen Thuoc.

The event will also gather directors from Belgium, Germany, France, Switzerland, Poland, Denmark, and Italy, whose films mainly deal with arts, urbanization, immigration, women’s life, and the gap between rich and poor.

Hanoi to perform world-renowned Carmen opera

“Carmen” - the opera adapted from the novel by Prosper Mérimée which has become one of the most famous musicals in the world - will be performed in Hanoi this month.

The opera, which will be directed by Swede director Helena Rohr and performed by more than 150 artists of the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet, will hit the stage of Hanoi Opera House on May 26 and 27.

Completed in the autumn of 1874 by the French composer Georges Bizet, the opera tells a story about Carmen, a Gipsy girl with optimistic, straightforward but wild personality.

It describes the eternal confrontation between men and women, the cruel but beautiful life, as well as the co-existence between love and death.

Selections from “Carmen” like “Habanera”, “Les Toreadors” and “Prelude” have hit the stage all over the world during the two last centuries.

Tickets costing from VND150,000 to VND500,000 are available at Hanoi Opera House or can be booked through www.ticketvn.com and ticketvn@fpt.vn.

Exhibition on photos shot by famed German camera

Leica Club Vietnam opened its exhibition today in Hanoi showcasing photos taken with the high-quality German camera, Leica.

Titled “Live,” the exhibition features 70 black and white photos about Vietnamese daily life taken by 27 photographers of the club, including: Long Thanh, Do Anh Tuan, Ngọc Thai, Duong Minh Long, Hoai Linh, Nguyen Viet Thanh, Tran Viet Dung and Hoang Minh Tri.

Leica is a high-quality camera brand produced by German camera company Leica Camera AG, founded in Germany in 1913. The brand is famous in the world of photography due to the high-quality photos it produces and its sophisticated and classic design.

This is the first time the club has held an exhibition in the two years it has been meeting.

The exhibition will run until May 24 at 29 Hang Bai in Hanoi.

3 Da Lat relics to be restored

Three national historical and architectural relics in Dalat will be restored at a cost of VND45 billion (US$2 million).

The Lam Dong Province Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has earmarked VND14.7 billion to restore the Prison for Children, VND15 billion to repair the railway station, and VND15.5 billion to upgrade the Da Lat Teachers Training College.

The station was designed by French architects Moncet and Reveron and opened in 1938. A combination of European style with that of stilt houses from the Central Highlands, it was considered the most beautiful in Indochina at the time.

The Da Lat Teachers Training College, built in 1935, was recognized as one of 1,000 outstanding architectural works of the world in the 20th century by the World Architecture Community.

The Prison for Children was built in 1971 and disguised as a teaching center for children, but was actually used to detain young political prisoners in 1971-73.

It became the only political prison in Vietnam to be shut down due to a prisoners’ revolt.

Ancient well found in Ninh Thuan

An ancient square brick and wood well that is thought to have been buried for years was discovered on Monday in Phan Rang – Thap Cham city of Ninh Thuan province.

Workers constructing a building on 21-8 Street found the well, around 2 square meters in area and 3 meters in height.

It was constructed with traditional Cham methods using brick and wood.

Experts from the provincial museum said it is possibly a Cham ethnic group’s ancient well. They have begun to survey it to determine its origin and age.

Vietnam introduces rich culture in Mexico

Vietnamese diplomats in Mexico are introducing the nation’s rich culture at the third Friend Countries’ Culture Fair, opened in the Mexico City Monday.

During the event, which will run through May 29, the Vietnamese embassy in Mexico will display traditional handicrafts, customs and souvenirs and screen films on the country, people, and culture.

It will introduce books on President Ho Chi Minh’s political articles, the Vietnamese revolution, along with other cultural and tourism publications, and hold talks on the occasion of the 121 st birthday of President Ho Chi Minh falling on May 19.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Municipal Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said that the fair provides a chance for Mexican people as well as foreigners working and living in the city to learn about different cultures around the world and also enrich the Mexican culture that has existed for centuries.

The municipal authorities are set to hold over 200 cultural activities, including photo exhibition, music performances, seminars and cuisine exchanges, in coordination with foreign embassies in the city.

Source: Tuoi Tre/Thanh Nien/VNA/SGT