LEGENDARY ARTIST A project to build a memorial house for late theatre scriptwriter Viễn Châu, a guru of cải lương (reformed opera), in his homeland of Trà Vinh Province, has launched by the province’s People’s Committee and its partners. Photo courtesy of HCM City Theatre Association.

HCM CITY — Trà Vinh Province has launched a project to build a memorial house for late theatre scriptwriter Viễn Châu, a guru of cải lương (reformed opera). 

The People’s Committee of Trà Vinh Province will build the house to honour the career of Châu, a leading scriptwriter of cải lương - a traditional genre of southern theatre which began in the early 1920s in the Mekong River Delta region.

The house will be built on 11,300 square metres of land in Đôn Xuân Commune in Duyên Hải District. 

The construction will cost VNĐ70 billion (US$3 million) and come from different sources, including funds raised by cải lương artists and fans at home and abroad. 

It is scheduled to start this year. 

“The memorial house for cải lương guru Viễn Châu will welcome visitors who are keen to know about the artist’s life and career, and his contribution to the development of Southern theatre,” said Lê Thanh Bình, deputy chairman of Trà Vinh’s People’s Committee. “It will also encourage local people, particularly youngsters, to learn more about their history, culture and traditional arts.” 

Châu was born in 1922 in Trà Vinh Province. 

He wrote and composed 2,00 vọng cổ (nostalgia) songs and 70 cải lương plays. 

Vọng cổ songs, which feature the character of southern people, are used mostly in cải lương plays.

His highlighted plays include Chuyện Tình Lan và Điệp (Love Story of Lan and Điệp), Sau Bức Màn Nhung (Behind the Velvet Curtain) and Tình Mẫu Tử (Mother's Love), all in praise of Southern women and their character. 

His vọng cổ songs combine traditional tunes and western music. 

As a music player, Châu travelled around the country and to many countries, such as Italy and France, to perform and introduce cải lương to the world. 

He also worked for several art schools to train theatre students, including cải lương stars Lệ Thuỷ, Nhọc Giàu and Bạch Tuyết. 

In 2012, he was awarded the title People’s Artist, and Labour Order, third class, by the Government in 2014 for his contributions to the development of Southern theatre.  

He died in HCM City in 2016. 

VETERAN STAR: People’s Artist Lệ Thuỷ has 50 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.

“Late artist Viễn Châu was my great teacher. His life and career showed how cải lương is still alive after a century,” said People’s Artist Lệ Thuỷ, who has 50 years in the industry. 

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