ARTISTIC LEGEND: Famous artists of cải lương (reformed opera), a 100-year-old form of Vietnamese theatre in the South, have worked to raise funds to build a memorial house for cải lương guru Viễn Châu. — Photo courtesy of HCM City Theatre Association

TRÀ VINH — Veteran and young artists are working to raise funds to build a memorial house for late theatre scriptwriter Viễn Châu, a guru of cải lương (reformed opera).

The construction will cost VNĐ70 billion (US$3 million) and will begin in September.

People’s Artist Lệ Thủy has appeared in several cultural events and shows in HCM City and southern provinces to encourage organisations and individuals involved in raising the money.

Her peers, such as cải lương stars Thanh Hằng, Phượng Loan and scriptwriter Hoàng Song Việt, are also involved.

The artists have raised more than VNĐ2.5 billion ($100,000) from their fans at home and abroad to build the house.

Thủy and her staff will also perform and release a series of online performances to raise money.

“Late artist Viễn Châu was my great teacher. The memorial house for Châu in his homeland, Trà Vinh Province, will encourage local people, particularly youngsters, to learn more about their history, culture and traditional arts,” said 76-year-old Thủy, who has 60 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.

The People’s Committee of Trà Vinh Province approved the project to build the memorial house for Châu last year.

“The house will 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,” said the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Director Dương Hoàng Sum at a press conference to raise money in Cần Thơ City.

Sum said the house will be “a tourist site attracting visitors who are keen to know about Châu’s life and career, and his contribution to the development of southern theatre.”

The house will be built on 11,300 square metres of land in Đôn Xuân Commune in Duyên Hải District. It will cover 16 areas, including an exhibition house for displaying photos, pictures, and objects about cải lương.

It is scheduled to be completed in late 2025.

MEMORIAL HOUSE: Construction of the memorial house for late theatre scriptwriter Viễn Châu, a guru of cải lương (reformed opera), is scheduled to begin in Trà Vinh Province in September. — Photo courtesy of Trà Vinh’s People’s Committee

Cải lương guru

Châu was born in 1922 in Trà Vinh Province.

He wrote and composed 200 vọng cổ (nostalgic tunes) songs and 70 cải lương plays. Vọng cổ songs are used in cải lương and are popular among farmer families.

Châu's 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 musician, 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 Thủy, Ngọc 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. — VNS