In our nearly two years in residence in Hanoi we have enjoyed many events at the Nha Hat Lon or Opera House. Modeled on the glorious Paris Opera Palais Garnier, the setting for "Phantom of the Opera," the Hanoi Opera House was built in 1911. 
On our earlier visits to Hanoi, the building was in a state of disrepair and we never had the opportunity to see the inside, much less hear a concert. Upon moving to Hanoi, we were delighted to find a vibrant classical music scene, including three symphony orchestras, The Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, the Hanoi Philharmonic and the Ballet and Opera Orchestra. We have had the pleasure of attending many concerts by all three groups and have become familiar with many of the players. We have often seen members of the three groups playing in ensembles at restaurants and hotels around the city.
Our close association with the Hanoi Conservatory has enabled us to get free tickets for all of the concerts put on by the Hanoi Philharmonic, whose players are mostly professors and advanced students at the school.
We generally purchase our tickets for the other concerts on the website ticketvn.com. Mr. Phuong, who runs the website also delivers the tickets free of charge. Ira and Phuong have become quite friendly and as preferred customers, we always have center seats near the front of the theater. It was surprising and rather touching when Phuong came up and hugged Ira at a recent concert and said he would miss Ira so much!
It must be admitted that Ira can be a bit of a gossip and last year when he met Ms Chi and learned that she had been graduated from the Conservatory and knew all the players, Ira could not wait to ask all the particulars about them. "The little man who used to play second chair violin. What happened to him?" "The woman from Saigon who was featured in the film about the VNSO, what's up with her?" "How much do they make?" (Chi didn't know but we found out subsequently from Conductor Graham Sutcliffe that it is not a highly paid position.) We have both noticed that many of the female orchestra members are strikingly attractive, notably Mai Anh, a violinist. We don't always agree on whether a certain woman (or man) is beautiful or handsome, but we reached a consensus on Mai Anh. Chi may also be a bit of a gossip as one day last year while Ira was teaching at a school where one of Chi's friends worked, he had lunch with several orchestra members who all said "We hear you like Mai Anh!" Actually we both admire her playing as we do the whole of the string section.
We have gone on at length about Carol's designer outfits from Vu Thu Giang and she decided to wear her new one to a VNSO concert. When it was finished it was just a bit snug so it was to be altered and we could pick it up in time for dinner and the concert. We almost didn't make it as our taxi driver, failing to listen to Ira's directions, took a wrong route and tried to make up for it by making an illegal left turn and in front of a policeman to boot. The gendarme whistled and pointed to the curbside and we figured we were in for a long ordeal. However, despite the clear signal from the cop and his cohorts, our driver took it on the lam and beat a hasty retreat through the back streets of the city! Try doing that in New York, or even Newtown, PA.
The outfit was perfect and we decided to "be seen," so stopped at the chic bar in Bobby Chinn for a drink, then went on the the club 51 Ly Thai To for dinner. We have been regular customers at this restaurant, formerly known as the Ly Club and enjoy the fabulous decor and the GM, Mr Tu. When he heard that we would be leaving Hanoi for the present, he had to give us a gift, a beautiful set of coasters with the Ly Club emblem.
Most symphony concerts consist of music by "dead white guys" and this was no exception. At least this guy was alive for a time while we were, though we know Mozart and Sibelius is definitely NOT Mozart. Regardless the concert commemorating the 50th anniversary of Sibelius' death was pleasant and the music tuneful and pleasant. We commemorate births and deaths and anniversaries. Perhaps next it will be "concert commemorating the composer's first tooth" or "the time he first ate pizza." It seems we always need a theme.
At the intermission, we took a few photos, mostly to show off Carol's new outfit. "Oh, this old thing? Just a little number Vu Thu Giang whipped up for me and Ira spied Mai Anh chatting with Ms Chi. We came over and spoke with them and we were then introduced to Quang, Chi's husband. Someone suggested that we get a photo of both of us with Mai Anh, but Mai Anh wanted four people in the shot for some superstitious reason. So it was that Quang took a photo of Ira with three beautiful women.
Somehow all four were smiling and no one was putting fingers behind anyone else's head.
After the show, we took a last look up the staircase and then caught a cab back to Sofitel Plaza where Dinh the bellman took a photo of us in concert attire. Carol had on a custom designer outfit and all the bellmen could talk about was how "dep trai" Ira was with a tie on! Oh well, de gustibus non est disputandum.
Comments