HCM CITY — With the new year season coming around, cải lương (reformed opera) performers in HCM City are releasing new and catchy music videos after a long slog in the studio.

In Bình Tinh’s Oan Gia Ngang Trái (Family Game), a group of young artists dressed in traditional clothes sing and dance in a room as veterans stand in the middle.

Tinh, one of cải lương’s stars, appears for the first time in a video after scores of audio releases.

Her video features family issues. 

Before launching her video in HCM City, she said: “I spent VNĐ300 million (US$13,000) shooting my new production. I worked many hours every day with my producer, fashion stylist and choreographer to combine my art with beautiful images.

“I wanted my MV to be ready to take on the fierce competition in the industry," said the 36-year-old, who shot to fame when she was just 16, three years after she began to perform professionally.  

The trailer of her video on Youtube had attracted more than 3,000 views, many of them young people, who raved about the visuals.

Oan Gia Ngang Trái is set to be released next week.

Tinh is not the only one focusing on visuals. More and more cải lương artists are going down the same road, using dazzling images together with complex orchestration.

People’s Artist Bạch Tuyết, a cải lương guru, had made waves with a new MV last November.

In Em Gái Mưa (Rainy Girl), Tuyết creates a cải lương version of a 2017 hit album by young pop star Hương Tràm. 

Her MV subsequently attracted more than 19,100 views on YouTube.  

“Cải lương, a very unique and old genre of traditional theatre in the south, should change to meet the tastes of young audiences,” said the 73 year-old, who has been in the art for more than 60 years.

“I love cải lương after viewing Tuyết’s Em Gái Mưa in the cải lương version,” said Tràm, 21. 

Earlier this month, young artists Võ Minh Lâm, Phương Hằng and Tuấn Cảnh also released videos that attracted thousands of fans on YouTube and online music channels. 

HCM City Television’s HTV 3 and 9 channels have attracted large audiences by showing young cải lương performers who want to be as meticulous as pop singers when making their albums.

Many MVs featuring cải lương are being shot at famous tourist locations and produced by experienced crews.

Veteran artists like Ngọc Giàu and Kim Tử Long are no exception to the trend. They have invested a lot in their new albums, appealing to fans with their unique voices and dancing, and their videos that resemble movies.

Lâm, who is with the Trần Hữu Trang Cải Lương Theatre, said: “We learn from young artists, who produce quality MVs to attract youngsters. We hope our MVs will take cải lương to audiences worldwide.” — VNS