People’s Artist Bạch Tuyết will perform in the TV programme, Dấu Ấn Huyền Thoại (Legends), about cải lương (reformed opera) and tuồng (classical drama)  this week on HTV7. The programme features veteran artists who were famous in the 1960s and 80s and have worked to develop Vietnamese theatre. Photo courtesy of the producer

HCM CITY Theatre stars Bạch Tuyết and Thanh Kim Huệ will perform in a TV programme about cải lương (reformed opera) and tuồng (classical drama) on HCM City Television this week. 

The programme, Dấu Ấn Huyền Thoại (Legends), will feature veteran artists who were famous in the 1960s and 80s and have worked to develop Vietnamese theatre. 

Its first show on Thursday will feature People’s Artist Tuyết and Meritorious Artist Huệ, gurus of cải lương in the South. Both artists have more than 40 years of experience in the industry.

The actresses will perform in famous extracts from cải lương and tuồng plays that were staged by the region’s leading troupes. 

Extracts from Đời Cô Lựu (Ms Lựu’s Life) and Câu Thơ Yên Ngựa (Poetry and Saddle), which portray southern people and their culture, will be included.  

Đời Cô Lựu is a production by the late well-known scriptwriter Trần Hữu Trang. Since its debut by the Thanh Minh -Thanh Nga Troupe in the 1930s, the play has been staged many times by art troupes in HCM City and southern provinces.

Câu Thơ Yên Ngựa was written and directed by late People’s Artist Thanh Tòng in 1982. The play features the themes of patriotism and bravery. 

Tuyết and Huệ will also talk at the show. Video clips on the history of cải lương and the artists’ careers will be screened. 

“Our programme will offer quality plays with southern dramas by talented artists,” theatre director Thanh Hiệp of the HCM City Theatre Artists’ Association, who is a member of the programme’s art managing board, said. 

“Cải lương, which originated 100 years ago, was performed by small troupes in the Cửu Long (Mekong) River Delta provinces of Cần Thơ, Sóc Trăng, Cà Mau and Bạc Liêu. The art developed in the 1930s and 40s in Sài Gòn (HCM City now) and is popular among southern people today.” 

“Through talented artists in our performance, audiences will learn about the history and development of cải lương in different periods,” he said. 

Meritorious Artist and zitherist Hải Phượng will perform in the TV theatre programme Dấu Ấn Huyền Thoại (Legends). Photo Courtesy of the producer

After actresses Tuyết and Huệ, dozens of theatre stars will appear in the programme. 

People’s Artist Thanh Tuấn and Australian-Vietnamese Thanh Hằng have been invited. 

"I hope my art will help fans, particularly youth, understand why and how cải lương is the spirit of Vietnamese people," said Hằng, who returned to live in HCM City in 2016 after 15 years away from home.

The programme, Dấu Ấn Huyền Thoại (Legends), will air at 8pm every Thursday on HTV7 channel. VNS