CẢI LƯƠNG GURU: Celebrated artist Kim Cương (right) wrote and directed 50 cải lương and drama plays during her career, most of which highlighted southern women and their characters. Photo courtesy of HCM City Theatre Association

By Thu Anh

HCM CITY Two cải lương (reformed opera) stars, Kim Cương and Lệ Thuỷ, will perform in a special TV show on Hồ Chí Minh City Television (HTV) next week.

The show, Nghệ Sĩ Tri Âm (Live for People), is part of HTV’s cultural and arts programmes to celebrate the coming Lunar New Year holiday, which begins on February 10 this year.

Cương and Thuỷ have worked to preserve cải lương, a 100-year-old theatrical form of the South. Their contribution helped to expand and develop the art genre between the 1950s and 1990s in the region.

They will perform famous extracts from Lá Sầu Riêng (Durian Leaf), a dramatic play about southern women under the feudal-colonial society of Việt Nam written and directed by Cương.

The play was first staged in Sài Gòn (now HCM City) in the 1960s and has been staged many times by leading art troupes.

“I’m very happy to perform with my idol, Kim Cương. I hope our art will help young people to learn more about the South’s traditional culture and lifestyle,” said celebrated artist Lệ Thuỷ.

Thủy became a star after working as a lead actress for the Kim Chung Theatre in Sài Gòn. Her voice and dance skills left a strong impression on audiences.

After 1975, she worked for the HCM City Music and Dance Theatre.

In 1984, she and her colleagues, People’s Artist Bạch Tuyết and Ngọc Giàu, were invited to perform cải lương in France. Their performance impressed many overseas Vietnamese and foreigners.

Thủy won several top prizes at national traditional theatre competitions and festivals. She has performed in more than 300 plays, videos and films.

In 2020, Thuỷ released a YouTube series featuring her life and career called Hồi Ký Một Kiếp Cầm Ca - Sinh Ra Để Hát (Memoirs of a Performer - Born to Be on Stage).

The work includes 32 episodes that tell many stories about Thủy’s career. It helps viewers, particularly young ones, learn more about cải lương and the art’s development in Vietnamese theatre.

It has attracted more than 3 million views.

LIVING LEGEND: Celebrated artist Lệ Thuỷ (left) has more than 40 years working in cải lương (reformed opera), a 100-year-old form of Vietnamese theatre in the South. Photo courtesy of HCM City Theatre Association

Cương’s love for cải lương came from her parents, the late talented performers Nguyễn Phước Cương and Bảy Nam who were owners of the Đại Phước Cương Troupe, one of the region’s leading troupes.

She started her professional career when she was 17, performing with her mother, Nam, and actresses Phùng Há and Năm Phỉ, who are recognised as cải lương gurus.

In the 1960s, Cương became involved in modern drama and worked to combine it with cải lương.

She later established the Kim Cương Drama Troupe that grew to have more than 70 actors as its members. They performed dozens of plays written by Cương, mostly on the topics of women, love, family and social problems in the south.

Cương wrote and directed 50 plays during her career, most of which highlighted southern women and their character.

“Cải lương is still alive after a century. My younger colleagues are working to preserve and develop the art,” said 84-year-old Cương.

The show Nghệ Sĩ Tri Âm featuring Cương and Thuỷ will air at 8pm on HTV9 channel on January 28. VNS