December 2021
Princess Anio Opera Project Secretariat
Princess Anio Opera Project
Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between
Japan and VietnamPress conference held in Hanoi on December 16th
World premiere at Hanoi Opera House in September 2023!
Japanese and Vietnamese pros collaborate to create a new opera!

In commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Japan andVietnam in 2023, the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra and the Princess Anio Executive Committee(Brain Group, Yamaha Music Vietnam Company Limited, and the Association of International Exchange) haveannounced the production and premiere of a new opera titled Princess Anio.
This project aims both to promote exchange and friendship between Japan and Vietnam as well as to propel
their respective cultures of music forward. The world premiere will take place at the Hanoi Opera House in
September 2023.
The story of the opera revolves around the romance between Araki Sotaro, a merchant from Nagasaki, Japan,and Princess Anio from Hoi An, Vietnam, during the trading era of the Shuinsen in the early 17th century.
Japan and Vietnam have historically had a strong, trusting, and frank relationship. The production of this opera
aims to create a lasting symbol of the further deepening of relations between the two countries.
This project welcomes Yamada Takio, Japanese Ambassador in Vietnam, as its Honorary Advisor, and is
supported by the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam and many organizations related to Japan and Vietnam.

< Project Outline >Princess Anio Opera Project
A new opera, based on the history of diplomacy between the two countries nurtured from ancient times!
Project goals: To promote Japan-Vietnam culture exchange and friendship through music
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between
Japan and Vietnam
To further develop the two countries’ friendship through musical exchange
To create a moving work based on the history of the two countries

Led by: Princess Anio Executive Committee(Brain Group, Yamaha Music Vietnam, Association of International Exchange)

Joint hosting:Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra< Princess Anio Opera Project >Honorary advisor: Yamada Takio (Ambassador of Japan to Vietnam)
Representative: Honna Tetsuji (Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra MusicDirector and Principal Conductor)
Co-representative: Trinh Tung Linh
(Director of Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra)
Furukawa Naomasa(Chairman of the Princess Anio Executive Committee)

Support:

Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam, Embassy of Japan in Vietnam,
Nagasaki Prefecture, The Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam, TheJapanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam, The Japanese Chamber ofCommerce and Industry in Ho Chi Minh City, The Japanese Chamber of Commerce andIndustry in Da Nang, Vietnam Musicians’ Association

Sponsorship:

Platinum Supporters

Acecook Vietnam Joint Stock Company, Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.,
Toyota Motor Vietnam Co., Ltd., Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd.

Gold Supporters
Eneos Vietnam Co., Ltd., Becamex Tokyu Co., Ltd.,
Nippon Steel Metal Products Vietnam Co., Ltd.

Collaboration:

Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall (Yokohama Arts Foundation), Almond Co., Ltd.,Kajimoto, Roygent Parks Hanoi, GMO-Z.com RUNSYSTEM

Date:

Vietnam Performance Planned for September 2023 (schedule is under adjustment)(In commemoration of the signing of the normalization of diplomatic
relations between Japan and Vietnam on September 21, 1973)

Venue:

Hanoi Opera House (1 Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem, Ha Noi, Vietnam)

Araki Sotaro was a trader of goshuin seal stamps from the Azuchi Momoyama period to the Edo
period. He traveled from Nagasaki to Quang Nam (in central Vietnam), gained the trust of King
Nguyen Phuc Nguyen of Quang Nam , and married his daughter, the princess Ngoc Hoa. Sotaro
welcomed Princess Ngoc Hoa to Nagasaki as his wife, and the princess became familiar to thepeople of Nagasaki as Anio-san, spending the rest of her life in Nagasaki. Princess Anio's arrivalin Japan is traditionally celebrated once every seven years at the annual “Nagasaki Kunchi”
festival in Nagasaki from October 7th through 9th with a float replicating the goshuin boats thattraders such as Sotaro rode.
Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan
and Vietnam, the opera will stand as a symbol of future diplomacy that taps into the ancienthistory of friendship and mutual respect between the two countries.

Synopsis:
A story of love between a Vietnamese princess and a Japanese merchant remembered in story by both countries
On the raging sea, in the early 17th century "Age of Discovery," Princess Ngoc Hoa, a princess ofQuang Nam , and Araki Sotaro, a Japanese merchant, meet on board a Goshuin boat en route
between the two countries. Ten years after this meeting, fate reunites them and they fall in loveand express their desire to be married. The king of Quang Nam opposes his daughter leaving to
be married in a foreign country, but after seeing the two’s deep love and steadfast determination,
he allows them to marry and sees them off to Nagasaki, Japan.
"Anh Oi!" – In the town of Nagasaki, the innocent Princess Ngoc Hoa calls out to Sotaro
cheerfully in the words of Quang Nam . The observant people of Nagasaki hear this and begin tocall her "Anio-san.” She is loved by the people of the town, has a daughter, and is full ofhappiness.
Then, however, the tides of history threaten to splinter the couple’s love upon Japan’s shores as
the Nagasaki magistrate issues the closure of Japan under the sakoku system. What will becomeof the lovers?

< Production >General Director:

Honna Tetsuji

Composer:Tran Manh Hung

Drama :New Opera Princess Anio Project Production Team

Drama Lyrics (in Japanese): Oyama Daisuke
Lyrics (in Vietnamese):

Ha Quang Minh

Director:

Oyama Daisuke

Co-production:

Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra,
Vietnam National Opera and Ballet

Key Visual:Ando Saeko

Stage Engineering:

Art Creation Co., Ltd.

Historical Experts:

Phan Hai Linh, Tomoda Hiromichi, Fukukawa Yuichi, Kikuchi Seiichi,
Ando Katsuhiro, Honma Sadao

General Producer:

Furukawa Naomasa

Producer:

Trinh Tung Linh, Tani Makoto, Sasaki Shinji

Project Cooperation:

Embassy of Japan in Vietnam

Profiles of general figures:
Honna Tetsuji (General Director)
Born in Fukushima Prefecture in 1957. Honna started his partnership with the Vietnam
National Symphony Orchestra in 2001 during its Asian tour with the Nagoya PhilharmonicOrchestra. In 2009, he became the music director and chief conductor of the Vietnam
National Symphony Orchestra. In 2010, the commemorative performance Relocation ofthe Capital to Hanoi at the Millennium Anniversary Festival, where maestro Honna
conducted Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, Symphony of a Thousand led the VNSO under thebaton of Japanese maestro to a successful tour of the United States, Italy, and Russia. On
the 40th Anniversary (2013) and 45th Anniversary (2018) of the Establishment of
Diplomatic Relations between Japan and Vietnam, he toured Japan and growing inpopularity.
Honna started conducting while studying at the Tokyo University of the Arts. Since then, he has conductednumerous orchestras such as Orchestra del Teatro Alla Scala in Milan, Giuseppe Verdi Orchestra in Milan, andSymphony Orchestra in Prague.
Honna has won many awards such as the highest prize at the Tokyo International Music Competition, the second
prize at the Toscanini International Conducting Competition, and was a prize-winner at the Budapest
International Conducting Competition. In 2012, he was awarded the Cultural Achievement Award by theVietnamese government for his long-standing contribution to the music world of Vietnam. In 2018 he received aspecial award from the Vietnam Peace and Friendship Organization, and the Akio Watanabe Music Fund Special
Award in 2019.

Tran Manh Hung（Composer）
Born in Hanoi in 1973. Composer and music producer.
He graduated composition department and completed the graduate school of compositionof Hanoi Conservatory (now the Vietnam National Academy of Music).
In 2008 in cooperation with Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency Tran
Manh Hung created a rock opera titled Dream and Reality. In 2009, for the Beethoven
Festival in Bonn he composed a symphonic poem titled Le Chi Vien. In 2020, he composed
Khai Xuan Mo Hoi (meaning “a festival held at the beginning of spring”).
For three consecutive years since 2007, Tran Manh Hung has won the Best Composition
Award from the Vietnam Musicians Association. He has also received the Ho Chi Minh
City Television Best Composition Award (2011), the Vietnam Composition National Award (2017), Music Awardof the Vietnam Film Festival for Golden Lotus (2019) and the Music Award of the Vietnam Cinema Associationfor Golden Kite (2020).
Oyama Daisuke（Director, Drama Lyrics in Japanese）
Born in Kagoshima Prefecture in 1982, Daisuke Oyama is an opera singer, director, andscriptwriter. His many acclaimed performances as an opera singer include The Barber ofSeville, The Magic Flute and The Merry Widow. He also fascinated the audience by playing
the lead in various stage shows, including the role of The Phantom in Shiki Theatre
Company's The Phantom of the Opera, Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro directed byHideki Noda, and Black Jack in BLACK JACK, composed by Akira Miyagawa and basedon the manga by Osamu Tezuka. An eclectic theater artist, Oyama has been drawing on hisexperience to work as a director and scriptwriter for several stage productions. In 2019, hedirected Puccini's Madama Butterfly in Phnom Penh, contributing to the success of the first
Cambodian opera performance. Oyama graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts at the top of his class.

Ha Quang Minh（Lyrics in Vietnamese）
Born in Hanoi in 1977. Journalist, writer, composer, art curator.
Among his works – a variety of poetic, prose, and journalistic works. He has numerous
poetical and literary publications.
He is an editor of popular newspapers in Vietnam: The Thao Van hoa (a culture and sportsnewspaper) and Bong Da (soccer newspaper), and has appeared on various social andcultural talk-shows. Currently, he works for the Public Security Weekly Newspaper. He is
also active as a composer, producing music for Ho Ngoc Ha, Anh Khang , Pham Anh Khoaand others, in addition to being an art curator for artists such as Le Thiet Cuong and Tran
Trung Linh .
Ando Saeko （Key Visual）
Based in Vietnam since 1995, Japanese artist Saeko Ando studied Son Mai - Vietnam'straditional lacquer art - under the guidance of artist Trinh Tuan, lacquer master Doan Chi
Trung, and lacquer artisan Lam Huu Chinh. In 2000, Saeko's mastery of this traditional art
form led to her acceptance as the first foreign member of the Hanoi Art Association.
For decades, Saeko has worked to preserve and promote Son Mai - both in Vietnam andabroad. In a bid to help ensure this fascinating art's survival, she remains loyal to natural
lacquer, which continues to grow rarer, due to pressure from artificial lacquers. Throughher artwork, Saeko has boldly merged Vietnamese and Japanese lacquer techniques,
integrating tradition with innovation.
Saeko holds a Japanese degree in Philosophy. She does research into lacquer art and shares her findings via
lectures, conventions and symposia.

Contact information:
Princess Anio Project Secretariat
Please contact via the inquiry form on the official website: https://anio-opera.jp
QR code:Vietnam: Brain Communications, Luong Gia Kien
Japan: Brain Corporation, Sato Emma