100 years of Minh To ancient opera

On the evening of May 9, the classic traditional opera "The Poem of the Horse Saddle" will be performed again at Tran Huu Trang Theater, marking the 100-year milestone of a family with 6 generations of successors.

Never stop innovating

The Minh To family has its roots in the art of Southern opera, going through a century of development: reformed opera mixed with opera; Chinese opera; Cantonese opera and then classical opera. Up to now, this family has existed for the sixth generation.

Before 1975, the cai luong stage in Saigon all created their own brand with a performance style based on the creative tendencies of the tuong masters. That is, they specialized in performing one type of tuong such as: Chinese tuong, Western tuong, Japanese tuong, Vietnamese tuong or Indian tuong... In which, the script and staging were divided into genres such as: fragrance, color, swordplay, social psychology, fairy, Buddha, palm... In particular, there was a brand originating from the opera of Mrs. Vinh Xuan, and by the time of Mr. Thang, it was a troupe with the style of cai luong tuong, meaning they specialized in performing plays from Chinese stories, taken from the treasure trove of opera stories to write. Initially, they used the art of singing to create, then through each performance, the artists formed situations, creating the play.

Meritorious Artist Truong Son analyzed: "The elders at that time had a firm grasp of the plot, and before the opening act, they sat together to assign roles. They went on stage and understood the characters' personalities to interact. To blend in with the band, they had their own rules in the way they used their fingers and gestures so that the band could play the drums and instruments accordingly. This independent creativity exploited the rich imagination of the artists. Each performance was a different picture, no two shows were the same. Gradually, the style of Ho Quang reformed opera was formed, taking the plot of a foreign country but the way of telling it was our own."

Ban Khanh Hong - Minh To was born with the art of Ho Quang reformed opera, applying the reformed opera's melodies with Chinese music . In the period after 1975, People's Artist Thanh Tong advocated using 70% - 80% of domestic music, gradually replacing foreign music. The direction of using "pure Vietnamese" music belongs to musician Duc Phu and Minh To Ancient Reformed Opera Troupe is recognized as the leading art unit in this change.

Minh To troupe has been inactive since late 1997, but this inactivity is only in name (group signboard), in reality many members of the troupe are still continuously active in the arts until today. Artist Thanh Son founded the troupe "Minh To's Descendants", artist Cong Minh founded the troupe "Minh To with the new generation of actors", Meritorious Artist Kim Tu Long - the son-in-law of People's Artist Thanh Tong - founded the troupe "Three generations returning to the origin".

People's Artist Thoại Miêu commented: "The Minh Tơ reformed opera family develops its art in its own direction. It is noteworthy that from the fourth generation - People's Artist Thanh Tòng, there has been an acceptance, selection and creation of new things, so many classic scripts are still loved by the public today, specifically: "The poem of the saddle", "To Hien Thanh's trial", "Bao tap Nguyen Phong", "Canh nhan mu suong"...".

Actress Tu Quyen (left) and Hong Quyen - the sixth generation to continue the Minh To family's legacy - perform with their mother in the play "The Poem of the Horse Saddle" - the fifth generation - Meritorious Artist Tu Suong (middle)

Preserve gold and jade

Through the scientific research work "From Hat Boi to Cai Luong Tuong Co", People's Artist Thanh Tong wrote: The first generation was the grandparents of the Hat Boi troupe director Vinh Xuan (ie the great-grandfather of People's Artist Thanh Tong), the second generation was the artist Nguyen Van Thang - stage name Hai Thang (ie Bau Thang - the grandfather of People's Artist Thanh Tong) who was taught the profession by his father, Bau Vinh, and his mother, Dao Xuan. At the age of 20, Mr. Thang specialized in playing the main character, both as the troupe director and the teacher of the Hat Boi troupe Vinh Xuan. He was famous throughout the South.

Mr. Thang gave birth to the third generation of 8 children, 3 of whom went to fight against the French: Hai Chi, Nam Xu, Sau Quan, and 5 of whom followed the singing profession - Minh To, Khanh Hong, Huynh Mai, Bach Cuc, and Duc Phu. Mr. Minh To was the father of People's Artist Thanh Tong. Later, People's Artist Thanh Tong used his name to name the signboard "Dong au Minh To" to guide the young generation to follow the profession when they were between 10 and 13 years old.

Mr. Minh To and his wife, artist Bay Su, gave birth to People's Artist Thanh Tong and artists Xuan Yen, Thanh Loan, Minh Tam, Cong Minh, Xuan Thu, Thanh Son - the fourth generation. Members of this clan who have children and pass on their profession are the fifth generation such as: Xuan Truc, Meritorious Artist Trinh Trinh (daughter of artist Xuan Yen), People's Artist Que Tran (daughter of People's Artist Thanh Tong), Ngoc Nga, Meritorious Artist Tu Suong, Le Thanh Thao (daughter of artists Thanh Loan, Truong Son)...

Minh Tam is a musician who specializes in composing music for the traditional Tuong stage. Artist Cong Minh, in addition to being a famous actor, is also a famous stage costume specialist. Artist Thanh Son is a dance lecturer at the University of Theater and Cinema in Ho Chi Minh City. The clan of artist Huynh Mai and her husband, People's Artist Thanh Ton, has given birth to the following artists: Bach Lien, Bach Le, Bach Luu, Bach Ly, Bach Long, and Meritorious Artist Thanh Loc.

The Khanh Hong artist clan has artist Chi Bao following the profession and he is a famous actor. The Bach Cuc - Hoang Nuoi clan has director Phuong Hoang, who has staged about 200 cai luong videos and CDs from the 1990s to the present. Although artist Duc Phu has no children to succeed him, he has many disciples. He composed many new pieces for traditional opera from the 1960s - 1970s and passed on his profession to Meritorious Artist - musician Minh Tam.

The sixth generation includes actors: Hong Quyen, Tu Quyen (daughter of artist Tu Suong), Kim Thu (daughter of Ngoc Nga), Thao Tram (daughter of Le Thanh Thao), little Minh Khang (grandson of People's Artist Thanh Tong)... The play "The Poetry of the Horse Saddle" currently has the participation of Hong Quyen and Tu Quyen.

In 1924, Mr. Bau Thang took over the opera troupe of Mr. Ba Ngoan. In 1925, the Vinh Xuan opera troupe Ban Bau Thang was officially established and permanently established at Cau Quan communal house on Yersin street (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City today). In 1939, Mr. Bau Thang passed away, his family continued to maintain the troupe, changing the name to "Doan Bau Thang - Khanh Hong", with Mr. Hai Chi as director. When Mr. Hai Chi went to fight against the French, he handed the troupe over to his two younger brothers, Minh To and Khanh Hong; Mr. Minh To established the Hiep Thanh - Minh To opera troupe, which he was in charge of; and Mr. Khanh Hong established the Vinh Xuan Chinese opera troupe, which he was the director of.

Through 6 generations of the profession, the Minh To family has passed down the profession right on stage - meaning that their descendants learn the profession and practice and create through each role.

(To be continued)

Source: https://nld.com.vn/100-nam-tuong-co-minh-to-19625050721523635.htm