Vietnamese opera singer wins Chinese prize

Hanoi (VNA) - Nguyen Bich Thuy, a 30-year-old lecturer at the Vietnam National Academy of Music, was awarded fourth prize at the International Vocal Competition held in China 's Ningbo City.

"This is the first time a Vietnamese opera singer has won at the
competition," remarked People's Artist Trung Kien, "Thuy was highly
appreciated at the contest as she impressed 11 strict judges."

The competition is held every three years under a different theme each
time, with this year's theme focusing on opera. Thuy was selected among 200
contestants from 26 countries including the US , Russia , Canada , China
and The Republic of Korea through three rounds of tough competition.

As Thuy's master, Kien accompanied her to China for the lenghth of the
competition from October7-20, and witnessed how Thuy overcame the pressure.

During the contest, contestants weren't allowed to use microphones in the
theatre that seats 1,000.

Among 200 candidates, only 12 were chosen for the final round. In this
round, two contestants chose to sing Chinese opera songs, including Thuy and
a Chinese competitor. Thuy came out on top, with a song that originated from
a well-known poem by Dufu, a poet from the Tang dynasty.

Thuy has previously won several prizes from various international music
contests, including a first prize at the Bangkok Vocal Opera Competition in
2002.-Enditem