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Van-Anh Vanessa Vo

50 Years After The My Lai Massacre, An Opera Tells The Story

Tenor Rinde Eckert performs the role of Vietnam veteran Hugh Thompson, Jr. in My Lai. Ryan Hartford/CAP UCLA hide caption

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Ryan Hartford/CAP UCLA

1968: How We Got Here

50 Years After The My Lai Massacre, An Opera Tells The Story

The My Lai Massacre occurred 50 years ago this week in Vietnam. An opera featuring the Kronos Quartet and Van-Anh Vanessa Vo tells the story of an American soldier who tried to stop his own troops.

50 Years After The My Lai Massacre, An Opera Confronts The Past

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Vân-Ánh Võ's 'The Odyssey' Tells Refugee Stories Past And Present

Vân-Ánh Võ was inspired by the plight of refugees to create a concert piece called The Odyssey: From Vietnam to America." Courtesy of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts hide caption

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Courtesy of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

Music Interviews

Vân-Ánh Võ's 'The Odyssey' Tells Refugee Stories Past And Present

Võ's music blends Vietnamese and Western traditions. Her new multimedia stage work was inspired by people who fled Vietnam in 1979, as well as those fleeing wars today in Syria and Iraq.

Vân-Ánh Võ's 'The Odyssey' Tells Refugee Stories Past And Present

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'Summertime' In Hanoi

Vân-Ánh Vanessa Võ gives a Gershwin classic an expressive, evocative twist with the đàn bâù, a traditional Vietnamese instrument. Nguyen Nhat Hoang/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Nguyen Nhat Hoang/Courtesy of the artist

Review

Deceptive Cadence

'Summertime' In Hanoi

Performer and composer Vân-Ánh Vanessa Võ gives the Gershwin classic a distinct Vietnamese twist with the đàn bâù, an evocative traditional instrument.

01Summertime

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Van-Anh Vanessa Vo: Tiny Desk Concert

Van-Anh Vanessa Vo performs a Tiny Desk Concert in October 2013. Meredith Rizzo/Meredith Rizzo/NPR hide caption

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Meredith Rizzo/Meredith Rizzo/NPR

Tiny Desk

Van-Anh Vanessa Vo: Tiny Desk Concert

As a young girl in Vietnam, Van-Anh Vanessa Vo wanted to be a traditional musician although it was a world dominated by men. She pestered a master teacher for three years before he finally gave in.

Van-Anh Vanessa Vo: Tiny Desk Concert

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