Italian professor: 'Vietnam only knows a little about opera'

Hien Nguyen Soprano (middle) and Professor Gianni Kriscak share at the press conference - Photo: DAU DUNG

Professor Gianni Kriscak currently teaches theater music at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz (Austria).

Prior to that, he spent more than 10 years teaching opera history and performing as a pianist in Japan.

He recently came to Vietnam to attend the press conference introducing the book History of Italian Opera Part I and the concert La Passione by Hien Nguyen Soprano on the afternoon of February 28 in Hanoi.

The idea came "strong and sudden"

Sharing at a press conference on the afternoon of February 28, he said the idea of ​​publishing this research book in Vietnam came to him "strongly and suddenly".

Professor Gianni Kriscak explained that Vietnam was not actually the first country he thought of publishing his book.

During more than 10 years working in Japan, he found that "most of them only know a little about opera", "many Asian artists think opera means singing and only singing".

"Why opera became such an essential part of European society, especially Italian society," he said, "knowledge about the space for opera to arise and develop plays an important role," often overlooked by the Japanese.

The "Japanese" he mentioned were not only singers but also conductors, stage directors, music teachers...

The homeland of opera is Italy.

He decided to teach the history of Italian opera, and then intended to publish a book on the history of Italian opera in Asia for those who love music, especially opera, to refer to.

Around 2016, Mr. Gianni Kriscak started teaching at the Vietnam National Academy of Music. There were a number of students with beautiful voices.

However, Mr. Gianni Kriscak had to face the same reality as when he was in Japan, which was that there were still too few people who really knew about opera.

Artist Hien Nguyen Soprano is a student of Professor Gianni Kriscak.

After returning home from studying, she realized that in Vietnam, monographs on opera are very rare.

"I told Professor Gianni Kriscak, unexpectedly he also cherished that idea. The book was started two years ago, and has just been released now," Hien Nguyen said.

Book published by Dan Tri Publishing House and Omega+ - Photo: DAU DUNG

Going back in history in the "least boring" way

The book is called History of Italian Opera but is only 194 pages long, while A short history of opera - a book considered a classic in this field - is about 1,000 pages long.

With such a limited number of pages, is it possible to fully encapsulate the history of Italian opera, even if it takes place from the dawn of the art form to the early 18th century?

Mr. Gianni Kriscak said, in this book, the group of authors gives brief explanations about the political and social context, as well as the role of theaters in Italy...

"We try to cover important and interesting moments from this period - which are not widely known and are also less popular," he said.

This includes the period before musicals were born with different forms of musical theater.

"We tried to write it in the least boring way," he said.

Hien Nguyen Soprano added that the group of authors chose the most important things in the history of Italian opera to include in the book, avoiding rambling, helping readers grasp information quickly and accurately, avoiding the burdensome situation when approaching a genre considered academic in Vietnam.

"After releasing part I, if the book is well received in Vietnam, the authors will continue with part II," Professor Gianni Kriscak shared.

In the concert La Passione (on On the evening of March 1 at the Vietnam National Academy of Music, Hanoi), Hien Nguyen Soprano and two guests (Gianni Kriscak and Quoc Dat) will introduce classic love songs from the world and Vietnam.

Compared to the classic pop style to reach the public, this time the concert La Passione by Hien Nguyen Soprano delve into classical chamber music.

The program consists of two parts: classical and semi-classical vocal music with a total of 16 pieces of music.

On the Vietnamese love song side, there are works such as Lullaby of Winter (Dang Huu Phuc), Night Dreaming of the City (Viet Anh), Spring String (Cao Viet Bach), Grassland Love Story (Tran Tien)...

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/giao-su-nguoi-y-viet-nam-chi-biet-mot-chut-ve-opera-20240228195440678.htm