Dynamic duo: Pianist Trang Trinh and her South Korean husband, tenor Park Sung-min, will perform in the Luala concert's new season. – File Photo

HA NOI — The Luala concert, a series of free shows performed on city streets, is expected to bring music lovers in Ha Noi more surprises when its new season begins next month.

The series will begin with a performance on December 1 featuring Viet Nam's divo Tung Duong. The singer, who mainly pursues jazz and world music styles, has revealed he will challenge himself with another style – opera – at the opening concert, where he will stage an aria from the opera Tosca by Puccini.

Beside, Duong will also perform the Bai Ca Hy Vong (Song of Hope) by veteran Van Ky, which requires singers to have significant technique to reach its high notes.

Also, to demonstrate his great love for the legendary General Vo Nguyen Giap, who passed away last month, the singer will perform the song Bai Ca Song Lo (Lo River Epic) composed by Van Cao during the Anti-French War.

Following Duong's opening performance, famous pianist Trang Trinh will be the key artist during the second concert, which will be held on December 8.

After winning the prestigious Sterndale Bennett Scholarship, Trang spent six years studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Uk and was among the postgraduates. Trang started her international performing career after her debut in London in 2006, before touring perform in Europe. She also had the opportunity to sharpen her skills with world famous artists, including Leslie Howard and Jean Bernard-Pommier.

According to Trang, she has never had the chance to perform close to her audience. "The Luala concert will bring me so much closer to my audience. In another way, it makes my wishes come true," she said.

To support the idea of moving closer to listeners, Trang said she will perform the Le Carnaval des Animaux (Animal Carnival) – a humorous musical suite of 14 movements by the French Romantic composer Camille Saint-Saens.

On December 15, the popular Vietnamese pop singer Quang Dung will team with young songstress Pham Thu Ha, whose debut album, Classic Meets Chillout, won the Devotion Award 2013 as Album of the Year.

The wrap-up concert on December 22 will feature South Korean tenor Park Sung-min, who is the first-ever foreign artist to perform in the Luala.

Park will not only perform arias, but also conduct a choir consisting of South Koreans living in Ha Noi, to present famous Christmas songs.

Park's Vietnamese wife, pianist Trang Trinh, will again meet Luala audiences when she accompanies her husband in a repertoire during this concert.

In every show, alongside the performance of key artists, a classical orchestra consisting of 30 musicians who, under the baton of the Luala concert's director Nguyen Xuan Huy, will present several Western classics, such as Rondo Capriccioso by Saint Saens, Gypsy Airs by Pablo de Sarasate, Voices of Spring by Johann Strauss, and Elegy by Gabriel Faure.

The orchestra also will perform a special concert on December 14 at Ecopark – a new urban residential area in Hung Yen Province, about 13km from Ha Noi centre. The concert is expected to draw an audience of 1,000, most being area residents.

The Luala concert will take place every Saturday and Sunday afternoon, from 3pm until 5pm, in front of Music Publishing House, 61 Ly Thai To Street.

The biannual series has attracted thousands of people of all ages to enjoy the free concerts. — VNS