Millia rage

With an orchestra spread out across the entire parterre, audiences limited to the balconies, and no breaks but plenty of disinfectant, the Sofia Opera is one of the few music venues still hosting live performances in Europe. Across the continent, a third wave of COVID-19 infections is keeping opera houses and other cultural venues closed -- loud singing poses a particular risk as the virus spreads through droplets -- but in Bulgaria, classical music plays on, from "Tosca" to "La Traviata". "I am hungry for music. And the risk, why think about it? It's not riskier here than in the supermarket or the subway," says 81-year-old Petya Petkova, who attended Verdi's "La Traviata" with her daughter last week. Despite the disinfectant, social-distancing and staff taking people's temperature, a festive spirit reigns at the historic opera house in the Bulgarian capital, a stark contrast to its silenced counterparts in Paris, Vienna or Milan. Bulgaria first eased pandemic restrictions in … [Read more...] about As third wave rages, show goes on at Sofia opera

Vietnam logs no new COVID-19 infections on March 1 morning Vietnam documented zero COVID-19 infections in the past 12 hours as of 6:00 am on March 1, leaving the national tally unchanged at 2,448 patients, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control. Earlier, Vietnam reported 16 COVID-19 cases at 6pm on February 28, including 12 locally infected cases in the northern province of Hai Duong, the country's largest COVID-19 hotspot, and four imported cases in the southern provinces of Tay Ninh and Dong Thap. Of the total infections, there were 1,542 domestically-transmitted cases, including 849 recorded since the latest outbreak hit the northern province of Hai Duong on January 27. Ten cities and provinces nationwide have gone through 16 consecutive days without any locally-infected cases of COVID-19, including Hoa Binh, Dien Bien, Ha Giang, Binh Duong, Hung Yen, Bac Giang, Gia Lai, Bac Ninh, Quang Ninh, and Ho Chi Minh City. … [Read more...] about VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES MARCH 1

Nguyen Duc Hieu - the winner of the First Prize at the Nationwide Dance Performance Talent competition 2020 Born in Hanoi in 2000, from a young age, Nguyen Duc Hieu soon revealed his qualities of a professional dancer. Before turning to ballet, Nguyen Duc Hieu was known as a talent in the dance sports field with more than 50 domestic and international gold, silver, bronze medals. In 2020, after graduating with a good degree from the Vietnam Academy of Dance, Duc Hieu was admitted to the dance troupe of the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet Theatre (VNOB). When he was sent by the VNOB to participate in the Nationwide Dance Performance Talent competition, he won first prize in the category of European classical ballet and modern ballet. Nguyen Duc Hieu shared: “2020 can be considered as the moment to mark many of the best things for myself, even though Covid-19 pandemic has been raging around the world. Hopefully with my dancing, I can bring great stories to the public”. Vu … [Read more...] about Impressive young artists in 2020