DEDICATED ARTIST - Cải lương star Thoại Mỹ has worked to keep her art alive. — Photo courtesy of the producer.

HCM CITY — Meritorious Artist Thoại Mỹ, a veteran cải lương (reformed opera) performer, and young singer H’Kray have released a new music video on YouTube.

The MV Phấn Hoa Màu Son (Scarlet Flower) is a production that combines pop music and cải lương, a gerne of Vietnamese theatre which began 100 years ago in the South.

It portrays a cải lương actress, her career and love.

In the MV, Mỹ and H’Kray perform vọng cổ (nostalgia tunes), a type of traditional Southern music that is used in cải lương plays.

Vọng cổ songs are always performed at traditional festivals and anniversaries in the Cửu Long (Mekong) River Delta provinces of Cần Thơ, Sóc Trăng, Cà Mau and Bạc Liêu.

They feature the hopes and dreams of southern people. These songs are popular among farming families who love singing vọng cổ after a hard day of working in the fields.

The MV Phấn Hoa Màu Son attracted more than 60,000 views after just one day of its release on October 1.

NEW SONG - Meritorious Artist Thoại Mỹ, a cải lương (reformed opera) performer, has made waves with her new music video Phấn Hoa Màu Son (Scarlet Flower), a co-production with young singer H’Kray, released on YouTube on October 1. Photo courtesy of the producer.

“I love the music in Phấn Hoa Màu Son by young singer-songwriter H’Kray. His song about the love of a cải lương actress for her art left a very strong impression in my heart,” said Mỹ, who has been a cải lương singer for 35 years.

Mỹ began her love for cải lương when she was a child. Her first lessons came from her older sister, People’s Artist Thoại Miêu, a guru of the art.

She was a theatre star in the 1990s-2000s and performed for several leading theatres in the region, including Trần Hữu Trang Cải Lương Theatre of HCM City.

She won 20 top prizes and golden medals at national theatre festivals and contests.

She organised two live shows in 2005 and 2007, attracting audiences of more than 10,000 in HCM City.

She has worked with art schools to offer training courses providing young participants with performance skills in singing vọng cổ (nostalgia tunes) and cải lương.

“Cải lương is a very unique and old genre of traditional theatre from the south. I will work until my last breath to expand this art among young generations,” said 53-year-old Miêu.

H’Kray, 23, began his career in 2015. His music targets teenagers, and he is also a Tiktoker.

“I fell in love with cải lương from my grandmother, who often listens to the music on the radio,” said H’Kray. “I hope my video Phấn Hoa Màu Son on YouTube will help young fans learn more about cải lương - the spirit of the Southern people." — VNS