Versailles orchestra performs Baroque programme in Hanoi
Four female musicians wore Vietnamese ao dai during the concert, which featured seasonal works by Giovanni Antonio Guido alongside arias and duets.
The Royal Opera Orchestra of Versailles performed at Hanoi’s Ho Guom Opera House on October 29, 2026, with Polish conductor and violinist Stefan Plewniak leading a programme of Baroque instrumental and vocal music.
Music by Giovanni Antonio Guido provided the programme’s seasonal framework, taking listeners through spring, summer, autumn and winter. The repertoire also included compositions by Antonio Vivaldi, Georg Friedrich Handel and Jean-Philippe Rameau.
Among the less familiar selections for Vietnamese audiences were Johann Adolf Hasse’s Serpentes Igei in Deserto and Riccardo Broschi’s Son qual nave. Both composers were prominent in 18th-century European Baroque music, but their works are seldom performed live in Vietnam, particularly arias for castrato or countertenor voices.
Countertenors Théo Imart and Stéphane Wolf joined soprano Marie Zaccarini for the vocal selections. Four of the orchestra’s female musicians performed in ao dai, while Plewniak encouraged concertgoers to clap during livelier passages.
Speaking to reporters, Plewniak said the visit marked the orchestra’s second Hanoi tour of 2026, following a spring trip. He expressed a wish to return once or twice a year. Another concert, titled Four Seasons with Love, is scheduled at the same venue.
