Upcoming events

* November 5-10 (Friday-Wednesday): The Japanese Film Festival will be held in Hanoi. Eight films - “Happy Flight”, “Rashomon”, “Tony Takitani”, “Kamikaze Girls”, “Sansho the Bailiff”, “5 Centimeters per Second” (cartoon), “Yunagi City, Sakura Country” and “Memories of Tomorrow” will be screened at National Cinema Center, 87 Lang Ha Street, Ba Dinh District. Free admission.

* November 7 (Sunday): The Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra and the Tokyo Metropolitian Symphony Orchestra will hold a concert at the Hanoi Opera House, 1 Trang Tien Street. The program is conducted by Tetsuji Honna. Tickets cost VND300,000, 200,000 and 150,000. For ticket delivery, call 0913 489 858 and speak with Mr. Do Phuong.

* November 8 (Monday): The Le Nouveau Trio Gitan - Three guitarists - Christian Escoudé, Jean-Baptiste Laya and Hugo Lippi - will perform at the HCMC Opera House. Ticket price: VND200,000, 150,000 and 100,000 (50 percent discount for students). Tickets are available at the Opera House, 7 Lam Son Square, District 1. For ticket delivery, call (08) 3 823 7419 or (08) 6 270 4450.

*November 9 (Tuesday): The Singapore Business Group, in cooperation with EuroCham, will host a Luncheon Seminar “The ASEAN Economic Community: Implications for Business”, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Sofitel Saigon Plaza, 17 Le Duan Blvd; District 1, HCMC. Speaker: Mr. James Lockett, special counsel to Baker & McKenzie based in Hanoi. Fee: VND900,000 for members and co-hosting members and VND1,000,000 for non-members. For further queries or registration, e-mail sbg@sbghcmc.org or phone (08) 3 823 3046. Registration must be made by Monday, November 8, at the latest.

* November 10 (Wednesday): The American Apparel and Footwear Association organizes International Product Safety & Restricted Substances Conference at the New World Hotel Saigon, 76 Le Lai Street, District 1, HCMC. From 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

* November 10 (Wednesday): Circolo Italia – a group of Italians living in Ho Chi Minh City will screen “Complici del silenzio” at Pendolasco Restaurant, 87 Nguyen Hue Blvd., District 1. This is part of the group’s program to screen several Italian films (all have English subtitles and most have been recently produced). A donation of VND50,000 is suggested, except for students with a valid identification card. The next films to be screened are “Colpo d’occhio” (Nov. 24), Signorina effe (Dec. 8) and “Pranzo di Natale” (Dec. 15). Screenings will start at 7 p.m.

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Upcoming events

* November 5-10 (Friday-Wednesday): The Japanese Film Festival will be held in Hanoi. Eight films - “Happy Flight”, “Rashomon”, “Tony Takitani”, “Kamikaze Girls”, “Sansho the Bailiff”, “5 Centimeters per Second” (cartoon), “Yunagi City, Sakura Country” and “Memories of Tomorrow” will be screened at National Cinema Center, 87 Lang Ha Street, Ba Dinh District. Free admission.

* November 7 (Sunday): The Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra and the Tokyo Metropolitian Symphony Orchestra will hold a concert at the Hanoi Opera House, 1 Trang Tien Street. The program is conducted by Tetsuji Honna. Tickets cost VND300,000, 200,000 and 150,000. For ticket delivery, call 0913 489 858 and speak with Mr. Do Phuong.

* November 8 (Monday): The Le Nouveau Trio Gitan - Three guitarists - Christian Escoudé, Jean-Baptiste Laya and Hugo Lippi - will perform at the HCMC Opera House. Ticket price: VND200,000, 150,000 and 100,000 (50 percent discount for students). Tickets are available at the Opera House, 7 Lam Son Square, District 1. For ticket delivery, call (08) 3 823 7419 or (08) 6 270 4450.

*November 9 (Tuesday): The Singapore Business Group, in cooperation with EuroCham, will host a Luncheon Seminar “The ASEAN Economic Community: Implications for Business”, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Sofitel Saigon Plaza, 17 Le Duan Blvd; District 1, HCMC. Speaker: Mr. James Lockett, special counsel to Baker & McKenzie based in Hanoi. Fee: VND900,000 for members and co-hosting members and VND1,000,000 for non-members. For further queries or registration, e-mail sbg@sbghcmc.org or phone (08) 3 823 3046. Registration must be made by Monday, November 8, at the latest.

* November 10 (Wednesday): The American Apparel and Footwear Association organizes International Product Safety & Restricted Substances Conference at the New World Hotel Saigon, 76 Le Lai Street, District 1, HCMC. From 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

* November 10 (Wednesday): Circolo Italia – a group of Italians living in Ho Chi Minh City will screen “Complici del silenzio” at Pendolasco Restaurant, 87 Nguyen Hue Blvd., District 1. This is part of the group’s program to screen several Italian films (all have English subtitles and most have been recently produced). A donation of VND50,000 is suggested, except for students with a valid identification card. The next films to be screened are “Colpo d’occhio” (Nov. 24), Signorina effe (Dec. 8) and “Pranzo di Natale” (Dec. 15). Screenings will start at 7 p.m.

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New opera house to mark birthday

One of the two architectural options for the Thang Long Opera House which will be open for public consultation. The final decision will be made by the city leaders during the public showing. — VNS File Photo

HA NOI — Viet Nam's most modern opera house will start construction on October 7 to celebrate the capital's 1,000th anniversary.

Prior to that, a week-long exhibition displaying two architectural options for the proposed Thang Long Opera House will be open for public consultation from next Wednesday, Ha Noi People's Committee chairman Nguyen The Thao decided on Tuesday.

The blueprints have been produced by British architects Norman Foster & Partners and the Italian Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

The final decision will be made by the city leaders, during the public showing.

However, the seven-member selection board, chaired by Prof Christine Hawley, head of the Faculty of the Built Environment at the University College London, earlier voted for the Italian consultant's design.

Other board members include renowned Vietnamese and international experts – Viet Nam Architect Association chairman Nguyen Tan Van, Canadian professor Merrill Elam, Spanish professor Salvador Perez Aroyo, the Construction Ministry's Architecture and Planning Department director Phan My Linh, Ha Noi Planning Institute director La Thi Kim Ngan and Ha Noi Planning and Architecture Department director Nguyen Van Hai.

Renzo Piano is inspired by a red sail brightening the dark sky of Ha Long Bay, claim the Viet Nam Urban Planning and Development Association.

In the blueprint, the Thang Long Opera House would be highlighted as a precious pearl kept within a crystal box. The complex includes the opera house, outdoor stage and parking area, which are all elevated, allowing space for water, trees and park and a small road.

The opera house with maximum height of up to 100m will mainly use steel and glass for construction to create an impression of transparency and weightlessness.

An energy saving system will be installed on the roof while glass water pipes covering the opera house are expected to reduce thermo-radiation in summer.

The design submitted by Norman Foster portrays an opera house in the middle of a lotus pond, mimicking the style of Hue imperial architecture. Iconic images, including a bronze drum, traditional communal house roof, dragon scales and turtle shell in traditional colours would be used as decorative details.

Norman Foster and Renzo Piano are the only two consultants that replied to Ha Noi's invitation to take part the design contest.

Thang Long Opera House is expected to cover an area of nearly 22.3ha in West Lake new urban area.

The opera house will be able to accommodate 1,200-1,500 seats for classical performances.

The project will be managed by the Ha Noi People's Committee and invested by the Ha Noi Construction Department.

However, other important information, such as the total budget and construction period, have yet to be made public. —VNS

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