PRESS RELEASE
Vietnam Tour for the Teatro Massimo Palermo
The First Italian Opera Foundation to Perform in Hanoi
Palermo / Hanoi, September 30 2025. It’s a historic debut at the Ho Guom Opera in Hanoi for the Orchestra of the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, the first Italian opera foundation to receive an invitation to the capital of Vietnam.
A refined Gala dedicated to Italian opera singing, recognized as a UNESCO intangible heritage of humanity in 2023, is scheduled for 30 September and 1 October 2025 in one of the most modern and prestigious musical institutions in Asia, the futuristic Ho Guom Opera. The Theatre, which opened in July 2023 on a 5,000 sqm site adjacent to Hoan Kiem Lake has gained international recognition for its visionary architecture and superb acoustics, and has been recognized by the World Travel Awards among the 10 best opera houses in the world.
The concert program will offer an exciting journey through the most famous arias and duets of Italian belcanto, from Rossini to Verdi, Bellini and Donizetti. Giving voice to these masterpieces will be the soprano Federica Guida and the tenor Matteo Falcier, under the wise direction of Maestro Alberto Maniaci, Riccardo Muti’s only Italian student director for the second edition of the “Riccardo Muti Music Academy”.
The tour is the result of an important cooperation agreement signed last summer between the Teatro Massimo Foundation and the Ho Guom Opera, an agreement promoted by the City of Palermo and the Mayor Roberto Lagalla, President of the Teatro Massimo Foundation, which opens up significant opportunities for exchange and experience in Italian and Vietnamese art and culture. The delegation of the Teatro Massimo, led by the General Manager Marco Betta and the Artistic Director Alvise Casellati, was welcomed at the Ho Guom Opera by the director Mr. Nguyen Cong Bay and the Deputy Director of the Hanoi Ministry of Culture, Mr. Tran Hai Van, and was a guest of the Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Marco Della Seta on the evening of September 29th at Casa Italia.
“We are honored to be the first Italian opera foundation on this prestigious stage. Our debut in Vietnam represents an extraordinary opportunity to spread the great Italian musical tradition throughout the world and at the same time confirms the richness of the international relations that the Teatro Massimo cultivates. We want to strengthen them further, creating a bridge between the cultures of Vietnam and Italy, united by the language of music’ – declared Marco Betta, General Manager of the Teatro Massimo Foundation in Palermo.
PRESS RELEASE (in Italian) here
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Press Office
Fondazione Teatro Massimo
Giovannella Brancato
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