Special occasion: Meritorious Artist Bich Viet and People's Artist Trung Duc will share the stage with many other prominent singers to celebrate the Dien Bien Phu Victory. — File Photos

HA NOI (VNS) — Twenty voices of three generations of Vietnamese revolutionary music performers will take to the stage tomorrow to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory.

Titled Vang Vong Khuc Trang Ca Dien Bien (Resounding Dien Bien Epic), the one-night show which will take place at the National Convention Centre in Ha Noi, will showcase the most prominent and time-tested war-time songs.

People's artists Trung Kien, Tran Hieu, Quang Tho, Trung Duc, Thu Hien, and Meritorious artists Manh Ha, Quang Huy, Minh Duc will sing Ca Ngoi Ho Chu Tich (Praising President Ho Chi Minh), Se Ve Thu Do (Return to Capital City), Bo Doi Ve Lang (Soldiers Return to Village), Be Van Dan Song Mai (Hero Be Van Dan Lives Forever), Moi Anh Den Tham Que Toi (You Are Invited to Visit My Homeland), La Xanh (Green Leaves), and Truong Ca Song Lo (Song Lo Epic) among many others.

"We did experience the wars and follow the steps of soldiers. Our singing resounded all over the routes and forests that they passed, weaving a golden era of Vietnamese revolutionary music," said People's Artist Quang Tho.

"The war-era songs [from the French and American wars] will live forever, not only through our generation, but also through present and future generations," Tho added.

Younger artists Lan Anh, Viet Hoan, Anh Tho, Tan Nhan, and Dang Duong, famed for war-era songs, will also join the night.

"I feel so proud to sing revolutionary songs. We did not go through the wars like our predecessors, but their stories help me empathise with what it was like. Whenever I sing, I do with the passion and spirit of youth," male singer Dang Duong said.

"I'm particularly fond of this music genre. I always try to throw all my enthusiasm and passion into each song, recalling magnanimous moments when the whole country joined in the resistance war."

Among the troops, artists sang to motivate the civilian and armed forces tugging artillery into the battlefields.

Over the past 60 years, the Dien Bien Phu story has been illustrated through various art forms. Music is considered to have played an important role in the victory, according to researchers of the world-renowned event.

Directing such a large-scale event is challenging, says young director Bui Chi Trung.

"Information about Dien Bien Phu is rather widespread and mentioned over and over. Most influential witnesses are no longer alive. Newly-told stories about the victory are almost unavailable. These pose real challenges for me," Trung said.

"Then I decided to connect songs composed during the war resistance against the French with those during the Dien Bien Phu battle to build a story," he added.

"The story has its characters. But instead of interviews as normally seen, audiences will feel the significance of these periods through music.

"The victory did not belong to any individual but the assemble of tiny individuals. So, the songs are to praise those who contributed to the victory, and praise the people."

Exhibitions to showcase war memorabilia

In addition to the music performance, the Military Television and Broadcast Centre in conjunction with the Viet Nam Women's Union and Dong Do Company will carry out a range of activities to pay respect to those who devoted their time, efforts and property to the Dien Bien Phu Victory.

Under the programme, they have called for Vietnamese people at home and abroad and international friends to donate objects from the war.

The highlight of the activities will be an exhibition Dien Bien Memory which is due to open at the lobby of the National Convention Centre on Saturday night, and Dien Bien Phu Victory Museum in Dien Bien Phu City from April 28. The Viet Nam Women's Union located at 36 Ly Thuong Kiet Street in Ha Noi, will host a similar display from May 6.

The exhibits will comprise precious images, objects, and documents related to Dien Bien Phu Victory. - VNS