The national Trần Hữu Trang Talented Cải Lương Performers Contest to be held in HCM City in September and October has attracted 40 artists with at least five years’ experience from leading theatres and traditional art troupes across Việt Nam. Photo courtesy of the organisers

HCM CITY — The national Trần Hữu Trang Talented Cải Lương Performers Contest for 2022 began in HCM City on Friday night (September 9).

The contest attracted 40 cải lương (reformed opera) performers with at least five years of experience from leading theatres and traditional art troupes in HCM City, Hà Nội, Đà Nẵng, and southern provinces, such as the Trần Hữu Trang Cải Lương Theatre, the Chí Linh - Vân Hà Stage and the Việt Nam Cải Lương Theatre.

They included winners of prestigious competitions such as Nguyễn Văn Khởi and Thu Vân, who have won the annual Chuông Vàng Vọng Cổ (Golden Bell) Contest held by HCM City Television.

Khởi said the contest was an opportunity for him and his colleagues to learn from each other, improve their skills and develop their career.

The 34-year-old performed an excerpt from Không Là Cát Bụi (Not Be Invisible), a popular play depicting people’s lives post-war in the qualification round at the Trần Hữu Trang Cải Lương Theatre.

The qualification round will continue in HCM City until September 12 before moving to Cần Thơ City on September 17.

The jury, consisting of People’s Artists Trần Ngọc Giàu, Giang Mạnh Hà and Thoại Miêu, and Meritorious Artists Trọng Phúc and Quế Trân, will choose the top 20 contestants for the final round to be held in HCM City from October 17 to 21.

There are 10 gold medals on offer and a prize each for men and women artists to be chosen by a jury of journalists, and they will be given away at a ceremony at the HCM City Opera House on October 31.

There will be five shows to introduce the winners to the public.

The Trần Hữu Trang Talented Cải Lương Performers contest was launched in 1991, and has helped unearth and encourage a lot of talented artists.

In 2020 it became a national contest from being a city-level one.

The event is organised by the city's Department of Culture and Sports, the Việt Nam Theatre Artists Association and the city Theatre Association. 

Nguyễn Thị Thanh Thúy, the department’s deputy director and head of the contest organisation board, told the opening night, “The contest aims to honour cải lương performers and motivate them to develop their talent and career.

“The contest aims to honour artists’ contribution to the traditional art and creativity, encourage them to strive for its development and popularise it among particularly young people.” — VNS