A scene of the " Princess Anio" opera (Photo: VNA) Hung Yen (VNA) – The “Princess Anio” opera, which recounts a 17th century love story between a Vietnamese princess and Japanese merchant premiered in the northern mountainous province of Hung Yen on September 27.
The special performance aims to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan (1973-2023).
The opera is based on a real story of the love between Japanese merchant Araki Sotaro and Princess Ngoc Hoa (called Princess Anio by Japanese) in Vietnam's Hoi An during the trading era of the Shuinsen in the early 17th century.
Princess Ngoc Hoa was the daughter of Lord Nguyen Phuc Nguyen, who reigned from 1613 to 1635. In the early 17th century, Araki went to Hoi An to trade and met the princess. They fell in love and got married. In 1620, he took her to Nagasaki, where locals loved her for her beautiful appearance and gentle character.
Today, locals still stage a palanquin procession ceremony to welcome Princess Anio at Nagasaki Kunchi Festival.
Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Huu Nghia emphasised that Hung Yen has organised several practical activities to mark the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic relations and the opera represents the special bond and long-standing relations in economic, commercial and cultural exchanges between Vietnam and Japan.
Over the past years, the province has stepped up foreign investment attraction and created favourable conditions to lure investors investing in the locality, including those from Japan.
So far, Hung Yen has lured 516 active foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with a total registered investment of about 6.3 billion USD. Japan ranks first in the number of projects with 173 with a total capital of more than 4 billion USD.
Currently, 169 FDI projects of Japanese investors have been put into operation with a total investment capital of about 3.26 billion USD, creating jobs for about 45,000 labourers./.
