A concert entitled Thuong (Compassion) will take place at the Ha Noi Opera House tonight to raise funds for Vietnamese children with cancer.

Singer Thanh Lam. (Photo: Internet)

The show will highlight composer Quoc Trung and his ex-wife – pop diva Thanh Lam, among other musical talents.

"We have chosen nearly 20 songs representing a range of periods and composers, including Pham Duy, Trinh Cong Son, Thanh Tung, Do Bao and Luu Ha An," said Trung.

"Despite the differences in words and melodies, all the songs are associated with love and compassion."

Teenager Thien Thanh, daughter of Trung and Lam, will also sing on stage with the hope that her young voice will more easily reach children suffering from cancer.

The show will include moving video clips about the children and nearly 40 of their paintings will be on view in the entrance hall of the opera house. The displayed artworks were selected by painters Le Thiet Cuong and Dao Hai Phong, and they have already been sold for a total sum of VND450 million (US$21,400).

"The small exhibition confirms that beautiful art can come from anywhere, even from the hands of children in incredible pain," said Phong.

Trung said he hoped to organise similar shows in HCM City and Da Nang.

"Valentine's Day celebrates not only romantic love but also love for all humanity, and we can show that to these needy children," said Lam.

* Vietnamese poem named best translated work by Russian readers

A poem by writer Nguyen Quang Thieu won the best translated work title by readers of Russian Literature newspaper.

The poem Bai Hat Ve Co Huong (The Song of My Native Village) was translated by Voice of Russia's Nguyen Kim Hien and edited by poet Nikolai Vladimirovich Pereiaxlov.

It was published in the Russian Literature newspaper last year and won the Viet Nam Writers' Association prize in 1993.

* Thai artists focus on Vietnamese architecture in Bangkok exhibition

An on-going exhibition in Bangkok is featuring paintings of Vietnamese architecture by four Thai artists.

The artists, Thirasak Wongcumnan, Somyos Kumsang, Suwit Jaipom and Direk Kingnok, have selected about 180 paintings to exhibit after travelling through Viet Nam.

The pieces feature many beautiful ancient Vietnamese sites as well as typical characteristics of daily life in different regions.

Thirasak's paintings are distinct because she used pens to portray HCM City's landscapes like Ben Thanh Market and Duc Ba (Notre Dame) Cathedral, and the Perfume River in Hue.

A highlight of the exhibition is a large painting by artist Suwit who combines images of Ha Noi's old architecture, such as the Thang Long Citadel, One-Pillar Pagoda and Temple of Literature, with new buildings.

Source: VNS