VIỆT KIỀU STAR - Vietnamese-American singer Hương Lan (left) has worked to preserve cải lương. Photo courtesy of the producer

HCM CITY — A special art programme featuring famous theatre artists has been launched in HCM City to raise funds for disadvantaged children. 

The event, Trái Tim Phụ Nữ-Trái Tim Ngọc Trai Trái Tim (Women’s Heart), offers a series of live concerts and talk shows featuring veteran theatre artists and young singers.

All proceeds will be sent to help children with heart disease in Việt Nam. 

The organisers, the HCM City Theatre Artists’ Association and its partners, invited well-known việt kiều (Vietnamese overseas) artists to participate in the programme. 

The first show on October 1 featured Vietnamese-American singer Hương Lan and Vietnamese-Australian theatre actress Thanh Hằng, a veteran of cải lương (reformed opera). 

The two artists performed folk songs and extracts from historical plays of cải lương, a 100-year old gerne of Vietnamese theatre in the South.

Their performance attracted more than 2,000 people to HCM City’s Hoà Bình Theatre. 

“I hope every show from the programme Trái Tim Phụ Nữ-Trái Tim Ngọc Trai, will bring audiences closer to Vietnamese theatre and music. Through our art, I hope people will work more in charity activities,” said 65-year-old Lan. 

Lan began her professional career by singing cải lương under the guidance of her father, famous composer Hữu Phước. She later performed pop music and quickly became a star.

Lan lives in the US and has performed in many concerts and music festivals in Australia, France and Canada, and worked with Thúy Nga Paris By Night, a music show produced by Thúy Nga Production in Paris.

CHARITY CONCERT - Vietnamese-Australian theatre actress Thanh Hằng (in black), a veteran of cải lương (reformed opera), performs in Trái Tim Phụ Nữ-Trái Tim Ngọc Trai Trái Tim (Women’s Heart), a special charity art programme offering a series of live concerts and discussions featuring Vietnamese theatre and music. Photo courtesy of the producer

Theatre actress Hằng returned to live in HCM City in 2016 after more than 15 years away from home. She has performed in many concerts and TV shows, expanding cải lương among young people.  

Hằng won seven top prizes at national traditional theatre contests and festivals launched by the Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism and the Việt Nam Theatre Association. 

In 2021, she organised a mini show in HCM City celebrating her 40-year career. Her event featured famous songs and plays of cải lương in the 1970s and 80s in the south. 

The second show of Trái Tim Phụ Nữ - Trái Tim Ngọc Trai is scheduled for next month, featuring Hằng and young pop singers Như Ý, Jack Long and Quốc Đại. —VNS