General Ly Thuong Kiet and the heroic song of defending the country

In the atmosphere of the whole country celebrating the 50th anniversary of national reunification, coincidentally, there were consecutive programs and cai luong plays depicting the famous general Ly Thuong Kiet.

Le Trung Thao as Ly Thuong Kiet in A Thousand Years of Love (left) and Kim Tu Long as Ly Thuong Kiet in the program Ancient Moon Music on the evening of April 27 - Photo: LINH DOAN

These are the reformed operas Ngan Nam Tinh Su (March 2025), Cau Tho Saddle (April 2025), Ca Canh Ly Thuong Kiet (April 2025) and the play Sam Vang Dong Nhu Nguyet (June 2025).

Each play is a separate exploration of Ly Thuong Kiet's life in many stages, but in the end, it still highlights the image of an outstanding general who sacrificed himself for the independence and freedom of the nation.

Ly Thuong Kiet through the perspective of posterity

On the evening of March 26, at the World Youth Stage (University of Theatre and Cinema, Ho Chi Minh City), student Vu Hung graduated as a director with the play Thousand Years of Love Story (author: Nguyen Quang Lap). Thousand Years of Love Story was successfully staged as a spoken drama by Idecaf in 2009. Now, for the first time, Vu Hung ordered playwright Pham Van Dang to adapt it for Cai Luong.

Although it was just a graduation play, one could see Vu Hung's heart in wanting to perform a Vietnamese historical opera, especially revolving around the life of the famous general Ly Thuong Kiet - the outstanding hero of the nation, who wrote the poem Nam Quoc Son Ha, considered the first declaration of independence of our country.

Honoring his life during the days when the whole country is jubilantly organizing activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of national reunification is all the more meaningful.

A Thousand Years of Love is a touching silence about the love story of the young man Ngo Tuan (Ly Thuong Kiet) and the girl Thuan Khanh, making the audience feel haunted by the feelings and loneliness of the hero when he had to put aside his personal love for a greater cause.

On the night of April 19, at Tran Huu Trang Opera House, the audience had a "satisfying" evening of opera with the classical opera "The Poem of the Horse Saddle". This is a famous Vietnamese historical work of the 100-year-old family of the founders of Vinh Xuan - Mr. Thang - Minh To - Thanh Tong.

Artist Vo Minh Lam gets to try his hand at a difficult role, the character Ly Thuong Kiet, in the play Cau Tho Yen Ngua version 2025 - Photo: LINH DOAN

Many troupes across the country have re-staged this script, however, director Hoa Ha has breathed new life into the nearly 50-year-old play. In particular, in addition to characters such as Empress Dowager Linh Nhan (Y Lan), Empress Thuong Duong, and Ly Dao Thanh, the character Ly Thuong Kiet is the highlight that the director has painstakingly staged, making the audience surge with emotion.

Chi Linh - Van Ha Stage also urgently scheduled the performance of the Vietnamese historical play Thunder of the Nhu Nguyet River . This is a new work written by author Yen Ngan, directed by artist Chi Linh. Chi Linh also plays the important role of Ly Thuong Kiet.

Thunder of the Nhu Nguyet River strongly exploits the story of Prince Chieu Van. In history books, he, Prince Hoang Chan and General Ly Ke Nguyen were the ones who fought alongside Ly Thuong Kiet to contribute to the victory of Nhu Nguyet.

Although the play emphasizes Chieu Van, it also shows the stature of Ly Thuong Kiet with his strategic talent and resourcefulness that led our army to victory over the powerful Song army.

Artist Chi Linh plays Ly Thuong Kiet in the play Thunder on the Nhu Nguyet River - Photo: LINH DOAN

Proud of a famous general

What is valuable is that all the above plays were performed by socialized theaters with their own money. Coincidentally, all of them chose scripts related to Ly Thuong Kiet.

That means in the Vietnamese people's mind, he is an outstanding military and political figure, his indomitable spirit of regaining independence for the nation is an epic song that resonates forever to future generations.

As the one who brought new life to the 2025 version of the play "The Poem of the Horse Saddle ", director Hoa Ha moved the audience with performances that highlighted the spirit of patriotism and solidarity against foreign invaders of our nation.

She confided to Tuoi Tre that in previous productions, she felt that the character Ly Thuong Kiet was not very prominent, while the very name of the play Cau Tho Yen Ngua wanted to emphasize the divine poem of Ly Thuong Kiet.

"It must also be said that before, Thanh Tong, Truong Son... played the role of Ly Dao Thanh so well that the character became the highlight of the play with the trial of Queen Thuong Duong that almost every audience loved.

I did a lot of research on the character Ly Thuong Kiet, so this time I invested in young artist Vo Minh Lam to play a key role in the play. Because Ly Thuong Kiet was extremely good at tactics, military strategy, and intelligence, he created a resounding victory against the powerful Song army" - Hoa Ha said.

Artist Kim Tu Long transforms into the character Ly Thuong Kiet in the Ly Thuong Kiet opera, the program Ancient Moon Music on the evening of April 27 - Screenshot: LINH DOAN

Hoa Ha expressed in the poem "The Saddle" that she directed not only as a director, but also with a proud and respectful attitude towards the nation's outstanding ancestors.

The character of Ly Thuong Kiet truly touched the hearts of the audience because he had foresight, he recruited the talented Ly Dao Thanh to keep the court safe so he could lead the army to fight the enemy. He asked to spare the Thuong Duong queen so that internal discord would not create loopholes for the enemy to exploit.

The four main characters Ly Thuong Kiet - Ly Dao Thanh - Linh Nhan Queen Mother - Thuong Duong Queen, although they were at odds, when foreign countries invaded, they knew how to put aside personal grudges and unite to keep the border peaceful.

In particular, the performance of Ly Thuong Kiet inspecting the Nhu Nguyet River to find a way to fight the enemy and from there write the song Nam Quoc Son Ha was created by Hoa Ha to be an unforgettable performance for the audience.

From the songs, choreography to the performances of the actors, dance groups, and martial arts teams, the whole thing created a heroic atmosphere that made the auditorium explode with applause. The love for the homeland was thus fostered intensely…

On the evening of April 27, at HTV Television Theater, a special program of ancient music called Ho Chi Minh City 50 springs took place. Among them was the "key" performance of Ly Thuong Kiet's scene song.

The character Ly Thuong Kiet is played by artist Kim Tu Long. Also participating are artists Binh Tinh as Prince Chieu Van and Trong Nhan as Prince Hoang Chan.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/danh-tuong-ly-thuong-kiet-va-bai-trang-ca-giu-nuoc-20250428093544521.htm