On the evening of June 30, Duong Duc Hai - a student of class AE 7.1, Nam Tu Liem Secondary School - won First Prize in Group B (teenagers) at the vocal final round of the Crescendo International Music Festival & Competition 2025.
Standing out in the opera singing competition, Duong Duc Hai won First Prize in Group B (teenagers) at the Vocal Music final round (Photo: Organizing Committee).
Duong Duc Hai is the only non-professional contestant participating in both Festival (non-professional) and Competition (for students studying vocal music) categories, and is also the youngest person competing in the professional group.
In both competitions, Duc Hai chose to perform with a professional symphony orchestra of 25 musicians, under the direction of conductor Dustin - a young artist from Ho Chi Minh City.
Unlike many other contestants who only sang with piano accompaniment, the 13-year-old boy performed the aria Toreador (also known as Toreador March or March of the Toreadors , which is the popular name of the aria Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre , from the French opera Carmen , composed by Georges Bizet and libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy) with confidence, composure and charisma from the very first minutes of the competition night.
Duc Hai's mother said that he taught himself opera from a young age through videos of the legendary Luciano Pavarotti. Although he has not studied at any professional music school, his tutors highly appreciated his ability to perceive and absorb quickly. The confidence to "compete" with major students in the Competition category made Duc Hai's victory even more impressive.
Besides Duong Duc Hai, many other singers were also honored. In Group C (Competition), First Prize went to Le Nguyen Huyen Dan; Ho Huy Thong and Pham Gia Binh won Second Prize and Third Prize respectively.
In Group D (Competition), Bui Bao Ngoc won First Prize, Ngoc Thanh won Second Prize and Nguyen Thanh Dat won Third Prize.
In particular, two foreign contestants Kaireen Punjabi and Chiara Alina Egger received the Gold Award for their performance in the Festival category.
Contestant Bui Bao Ngoc (in blue dress) also won First Prize in Group D of the contest (Photo: Organizing Committee).
The Crescendo International Music Festival & Competition 2025 is a professional and internationalized art playground for young talents nationwide. This is the second time the competition has been held, attracting more than 800 contestants from Vietnam, Austria, France, Korea, Malaysia, Brunei to participate in the preliminary round of categories and genres in the 3 regions of North - Central - South.
After rigorous selection rounds, more than 400 excellent candidates were selected to enter the competition taking place from June 1 to June 16 in Hanoi , Hue and Ho Chi Minh City.
The competition is divided into two categories: Festival (amateur) and Competition (professional), to create conditions for young talents to demonstrate their abilities and access the international music environment.
Candidates compete in many categories such as solo piano, ensemble, string instruments, guitar and vocals. In particular, piano candidates also have the opportunity to perform with two professional orchestras under the direction of conductor Luke Severn (Director of the Bendigo Symphony Orchestra, Australia) and conductor Dustin (HCMC).
Contestants and judges take a souvenir photo after the final night of the vocal competition, which took place on the evening of June 30 at Ho Guom Theater, Hanoi (Photo: Organizing Committee).
The 10 best contestants of the season will be awarded short-term scholarships at the Vecchi-Tonelli Conservatory (Modena, Italy) - a unit under the Italian Ministry of Culture, which issues official certificates to all participating contestants.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giai-tri/cau-be-13-tuoi-hat-opera-doat-giai-nhat-tai-cuoc-thi-crescendo-2025-20250702003134505.htm
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