Nguyen Tuan Anh from the National University of Arts Education and Do Thi Phuong Mai from the Military College of Arts and Culture have won a national contest for professional chamber and opera singers.

Le Thi Vanh Khuyen, 30, from the Vietnam Opera Ballet Theatre won third prize at the Professional Chamber Music and Opera contest that wrapped up in HCMC on April 29(Photo: Tuoi Tre).

They won the final held on April 28 and received their prizes at a ceremony later that evening.

The second prizes went to Nguyen Phuc Tiep and Pham Thi Diep Huyen from the Vietnam National Academy of Music and Vu Manh Dung from the Vietnam Opera Ballet Theatre.

The third prizes were won by Vo Thuy Ngoc Tuyen from the HCMC Ballet and Symphony Orchestra, Le Thi Vanh Khuyen from the Vietnam Opera Ballet Theatre, and Le Nhu Ngoc Mai from the HCMC Conservatory of Music.

The head of the jury, Prof. Trung Kien, said this year there were only two kinds of performers: excellent and bad.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Tien Tho urged art training centers to discover new talents and provide them special training.

The Professional Chamber Music and Opera contest, organized annually by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Vietnam Association of Musicians and Composers, and Vietnam National Academy of Music until 2004, has been revived this year.

The six-day contest, which opened on April 24, attracted 46 candidates aged 19 to 36 from seven professional music training centers around the country.

VietNamNet/SGGP