HA NOI (VNS)— The famous Japanese opera Yuzuru (Twilight Crane) will be presented in Ha Noi in March.

Composed by Japanese composer Ikuma Dan after the play of the same name by Junji Kinoshita, the one-act opera had its debut in Japan in 1951.

The opera is about Yohyo – a simple-minded farmer who lives happily with his wife, Tsu.

Tsu is actually a crane that Yohyo had saved that assumed human form to become his spouse. However, Yohyo, who is wrapped in the pure love of his wife, forgot the evils of human greed. He lost the priceless affection of his wife and she transformed back into a crane and flapped away into the snowy twilit night.

Four Japanese artists, including soprano Ieda Noriko – in the role of Tsu, and tenor Mochiki Hiroshi – in the role of Yohyo, will present the opera.

Under the baton of Japanese conductor Honna Tetsuji, the Viet Nam National Symphony Orchestra and dancers from the Youth Theatre will accompany their Japanese peers.

Vietnamese People's Artist Le Hung will act as stage director. Yuzuru will be on at the Ha Noi Opera House on March 29-30.

Co-organised by the Japanese Embassy in Viet Nam, the Japan Foundation and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the opera is among numerous activities to celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relation between the two countries. — VNS