HISTORICAL ART: The HCM City-based Đồng Âu Bạch Long Troupe performs an extract from 'cải lương' (reformed opera) play Xuân Về Trên Đất Thăng Long (Spring Comes to Thăng Long Citadel) at the FPT Polytechnic College in Cần Thơ City. Photo courtesy of the troupe

HCM CITY — Critics, producers, and directors have gather at a seminar in HCM City to discuss ways to develop cải lương tuồng cổ, an art form combining cải lương (reformed opera) and hát bội (classical drama), which focuses on historical events and national heroes.

The art form was initiated by the late People’s Artist Thanh Tòng of Minh Tơ, a leading cải lương troupe in the region, and became very popular after 1975.

People’s Artist Quế Trân, Tòng’s daughter, said on Wednesday that her father wrote, directed and acted in Câu Thơ Yên Ngựa (Poetry and Saddle) using dances from hát bội and Vietnamese traditional music. It premiered in 1982, and became a launchpad for the development of cải lương tuồng cổ in the region.

Câu Thơ Yên Ngựa is set in the Lý Dynasty (1009-1225) and features themes of patriotism.  

Meritorious Artist Lê Minh Đạt of the HCM City Cinematography and Theatre, said the best way to promote cải lương tuồng cổ was nurturing human resources.

Đạt said troupes and theatres should offer special long-term training for selected artists who had a passion for cải lương tuồng cổ.

People’s Artist Hồ Văn Thành agreed with Đạt, saying that there should be classes for musicians to learn about music for cải lương tuồng cổ because the number of musicians that know this kind of music was diminishing.

Seminar participants emphasised the need for more cải lương plays highlighting the history of Việt Nam and national heroes.

In recent years, the city has seen the appearance of new cải lương tuồng cổ troupes such as Chí Linh – Vân Hà and Đồng Âu Bạch Long, who have brought new plays to the city’s stages.

The Chí Linh – Vân Hà private troupe introduced Sấm Vang Dòng Như Nguyệt (The Battle on the Như Nguyệt River), portraying General Lý Thường Kiệt, a prominent military leader and politician of Đại Việt (former name of Việt Nam) in the 11th century.

Meanwhile, Xuân Về Trên Đất Thăng Long (Spring Comes to Thăng Long Citadel), staged by Đồng Âu Bạch Long, featured female General Bùi Thị Xuân and her husband, General Trần Quang Diệu, two national heroes who lived and served the Tây Sơn Dynasty in the late 18th century.

Both plays were welcomed by critics and audiences and have been staged many times.

Nguyễn Thị Thanh Thuý, deputy director of the city Department of Culture and Sports, spoke at the seminar that the department will set up a category for cải lương plays on Vietnamese history at upcoming theatre festivals to encourage both state-owned and private troupes to invest more in new plays.

Thuý said the department will cooperate with the city Party Committee’s Department of Publicity and Education to promote high-quality and award-winning theatrical plays among city residents, particularly young people and students.

She added that the department will also work with the Department of Education and Training to expand the Sân Khấu Học Đường (Theatre School) project, bringing more plays on Vietnamese history to schools across the city. – VNS