Viet Nam News
HCM CITY — Ta Minh Tam, one of Viet Nam’s leading tenors, will host a concert at the HCM City Conservatory of Music on November 25 to celebrate his 40-year singing career.
“Live concert TAM reflects my gratitude to my friends, colleagues, students and fans who have supported me for a very long time,” said Tam, lecturer and deputy headmaster at the conservatory.
He said the concert would include well-known Vietnamese songs and excerpts from famous foreign operas.
In the first half of the concert, the 57-year-old will perform with Vo Ha Tram and Pham The Vi, graduates of the conservatory.
They will sing songs praising the country by famous Vietnamese composers, such as Tieng Hat tu Thanh Pho Mang Ten Nguoi (Singing from the City Named after Ho Chi Minh) by Cao Viet Bach, Nhung Anh Sao Dem (Starlight) by Phan Huynh Dieu, and Que Nha (Homeland) by Tran Tien.
The second part will feature O Sole Mio, the well-known Neapolitan song written in 1898 with lyrics by Giovanni Capurro and music by Eduardo di Capua and Alfredo Mazzucchi.
Songs from 19th century famous operas by Puccini, Donizetti and Lehar will be featured as well.
The sopranos Cho Hae Ryong and Vo Thuy Ngoc Tuyen will perform with Tam, who will end the concert with the composition La Bang (Leaf of Malabar Almond Tree) by Meritorious Artist Tran Vuong Thach, director of the HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO).
Thach wrote the song in 1998 for the TV series Vien Ngoc Con Son (Pearl of Con Son). It is about the love between the Vietnamese people and soldiers during wars.
Thach will conduct the live concert TAM, while Le Thuy, who has directed several music and television shows, will be the concert director.
Tam said: “My friends and I have spent a lot of love and time on concert TAM in hopes of bringing a quality show to audiences.”
Tam, a native of An Giang Province, became well-known after winning the top prize at the National Singing and Dance Festival in 1977.
He later studied vocal music at the city’s conservatory and graduated in 1983 with excellent results. He also studied at the Canford School in the UK.
He continued to win national and international singing contests such as the ASEAN Golden Festival in Ha Noi in 1996 and the Spring Friendship Art Festival in North Korea in 1997.
He is known for Vietnamese revolutionary songs such as Tinh Ca (Love Song) by Hoang Viet and Dat Nuoc Tron Niem Vui (The Nation is Full of the Joys of Reunification) by Hoang Ha.
He has also performed major roles in operas staged by HBSO.
Tam was granted the title Meritorious Artist in 2001 and received the third-class Labour Medal in 2002 for his contribution to the country’s music industry.
The concert TAM will begin at 7.30pm at the conservatory at 112 Nguyen Du Street in District 1. — VNS