My Level 6 colleagues and I went to the Tokyo Deli for lunch ... could be the start of a Friday afternoon tradition ... so I ended up having to stay late to do prepping for next week. As the skies were impressively dark, I decided to take the 5:15 Phu My Hung bus home rather than risk getting drenched. As it happens, Jane, our EAP academic manager, was on the bus and mentioned that her friend was stuck in Vung Tau, a beach community near HCMC and wasn’t able to get back in time to go to a concert. Anyway after a minute of to-ing and fro-ing, we decided that I was available and so we changed buses, went downtown instead and thus began a very nice, impromptu evening!
First, we picked up the concert tickets at her friend’s apartment and then popped over to a restaurant, called The Refinery, which is one of several small bars and restaurants located in an old opium factory. I had never been there before, although I had been to one of the nearby places, so a piece of the puzzle fit into place when I actually put 2 and 2 together and realized that I knew where I was! Dinner was relaxed and delicious ... a nice courgette soup with chevre and the Refinery salad with lots of lovely things. Yum.
After dinner we walked around the corner to the Municipal Theatre, or Opera House. The theatre is quite a landmark in HCMC and while it is not very large, it is lovely and newly refurbished, inside and out. Like a dollhouse in many ways, and very, very pretty.
The resident orchestra is called the Ho Chi Minh City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera and the performance was an artistic exchange with two prominent musicians from the Viet Nam Symphony Orchestra in Hanoi. The program was quite nice, and included a short overture directed by a junior conductor. The main two pieces were the Concerto for Bassoon in F Major, Op 75 by CM von Weber and Dvorak’s Cello Concerto in B Minor. You may know that I am musically illiterate. I had never heard a bassoon concerto before and it was lovely. The sound was not overpowering by any means, and I was struck by how expressive the instrument seemed to be. Somewhere in my ancient past I recall an ESL student who claimed all bassoonists were quite deranged (I think she was married to one) but Mr Nguyen, the soloist last night, seemed perfectly rational to me. He became a little flushed at times, but I am quite sure that was a combination of stage lights and oxygen deprivation (at the end of a long trill, for example). I watched him carefully for telltale signs of instability but, really, I saw none.
The cello concerto was the highlight of the evening and it was masterfully played by Mr. Ngo, who seemed to be very popular with the audience and musicians alike. Lovely young women in ao dais brought flowers to the stage and it was very lovely. Although the audience was small, there were a few others from RMIT there. Apparently, there are performances by the orchestra and/or ballet twice a month, so I hope I will have a chance to attend more concerts while I am here. The next performance this month is called A Norwegian Footprint and features several Norwegian musicians ... and I see von Weber is again represented with a Concertino fu Oboe und Blaser (whatever that is).
For those of you in Canada, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and that the weather permits a lovely walk in a park or some time to enjoy the beautiful fall foliage. I hope you have a relaxing time with family and friends and I hope that you all have much to be grateful for. I certainly am very aware of my fortune in being able to teach here for a while and will teach on Monday with an extra dose of gratitude. Here we are still in the midst of the rainy season. Yesterday’s torrential downpour would have translated to at least 25 cm of snow in a cold climate, but then it brightened up 15 minutes later and went on like that for a few hours, until the next set of showers. See ... already more appreciative! Take care, everyone!
First, we picked up the concert tickets at her friend’s apartment and then popped over to a restaurant, called The Refinery, which is one of several small bars and restaurants located in an old opium factory. I had never been there before, although I had been to one of the nearby places, so a piece of the puzzle fit into place when I actually put 2 and 2 together and realized that I knew where I was! Dinner was relaxed and delicious ... a nice courgette soup with chevre and the Refinery salad with lots of lovely things. Yum.
After dinner we walked around the corner to the Municipal Theatre, or Opera House. The theatre is quite a landmark in HCMC and while it is not very large, it is lovely and newly refurbished, inside and out. Like a dollhouse in many ways, and very, very pretty.
The resident orchestra is called the Ho Chi Minh City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera and the performance was an artistic exchange with two prominent musicians from the Viet Nam Symphony Orchestra in Hanoi. The program was quite nice, and included a short overture directed by a junior conductor. The main two pieces were the Concerto for Bassoon in F Major, Op 75 by CM von Weber and Dvorak’s Cello Concerto in B Minor. You may know that I am musically illiterate. I had never heard a bassoon concerto before and it was lovely. The sound was not overpowering by any means, and I was struck by how expressive the instrument seemed to be. Somewhere in my ancient past I recall an ESL student who claimed all bassoonists were quite deranged (I think she was married to one) but Mr Nguyen, the soloist last night, seemed perfectly rational to me. He became a little flushed at times, but I am quite sure that was a combination of stage lights and oxygen deprivation (at the end of a long trill, for example). I watched him carefully for telltale signs of instability but, really, I saw none.
The cello concerto was the highlight of the evening and it was masterfully played by Mr. Ngo, who seemed to be very popular with the audience and musicians alike. Lovely young women in ao dais brought flowers to the stage and it was very lovely. Although the audience was small, there were a few others from RMIT there. Apparently, there are performances by the orchestra and/or ballet twice a month, so I hope I will have a chance to attend more concerts while I am here. The next performance this month is called A Norwegian Footprint and features several Norwegian musicians ... and I see von Weber is again represented with a Concertino fu Oboe und Blaser (whatever that is).
For those of you in Canada, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and that the weather permits a lovely walk in a park or some time to enjoy the beautiful fall foliage. I hope you have a relaxing time with family and friends and I hope that you all have much to be grateful for. I certainly am very aware of my fortune in being able to teach here for a while and will teach on Monday with an extra dose of gratitude. Here we are still in the midst of the rainy season. Yesterday’s torrential downpour would have translated to at least 25 cm of snow in a cold climate, but then it brightened up 15 minutes later and went on like that for a few hours, until the next set of showers. See ... already more appreciative! Take care, everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment