Operatic: Performers from the Gala Italiano concert pose at a press conference in Ha Noi yesterday. — VNS Photo Bach Lien

HA NOI — Audiences in Ha Noi will get a taste of Italian opera tomorrow evening with the Gala Italiano concert to be held at the Ha Noi Opera House to celebrate Italy's National Day.

Artists from the Roman Concert Association will perform a repertoire of opera arias drawn from the bel canto period of the early 19th century, including works by Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti. Performers will include soprano Lucia Conte, mezzosoprano Paola Cacciatori, tenor David Sotgiu, baritone Juan Possidente, and pianist Antonio Cama, under the baton of Carlo Magni.

"Italian opera developed the most between 1800 and 1850, so that's why we decided to present to Vietnamese audiences operatic works from Italy composed during this period," Magni told Viet Nam News. "Opera express human feelings, which is why I believe that everyone can understand it, including audiences that might not be used to listening to opera."

Italian opera rose to dominance in Europe in the 18th century, causing many non-Italian composers to compose operas in Italian, including Handel, Gluck and Mozart. Works by Italian composers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including Verdi and Puccini, are among the most famous operas ever written and are still performed in opera houses around the world.

The Gala Italiano is part of the Y-Viet 2012 Programme, an initiative promoted by the Italian Embassy in Ha Noi and its partners which aims to bring the best of Italian culture to the people of Viet Nam. The Roman Concert Association's ensemble of artists have already performed in countries around the world, including Syria, Turkey and Morocco.

This event has been organised in collaboration with the Italian Red Cross. The revenue from ticket sales will be donated to the Vietnamese Red Cross to implement projects in collaboration with the Italian Red Cross.

Tickets start at VND200,000 (US$10) and are available at the Ha Noi Opera House, 1 Trang Tien Street. — VNS