Bringing amateur Hat Boi heritage closer to tourists

The 2024 Binh Dinh Province Tuong (Hat Boi) Non-Professional Theatre Festival, which took place in early August, has attracted public attention. This event is a motivation for the non-professional Tuong (Hat Boi) artists to preserve and promote the value of the Tuong (Hat Boi) art heritage in the "Land of Martial Arts", as well as create an impressive product to attract visitors.

The festival attracted more than 100 artists and musicians from 9 Hat Boi art troupes in the province, including Nhon Hung, Sao Mai, An Nhon, Phuoc An, Tran Quang Dieu, Song Kon, An Nhon 2, Ngo May, Hoai Nhon, participating in the competition with 25 Hat Boi excerpts on traditional and historical topics, with a duration of 20 - 30 minutes/excerpt.

Excerpt from Dao Tam Xuan's Flag Presentation performed by Phuoc An amateur opera troupe

People's Artist Xuan Hoi, a member of the Festival's Jury, acknowledged that some actors and musicians of non-professional opera troupes (also known as traditional opera troupes) still have some performances that are long, unattractive, and break the traditional lines; some artists have not fully performed their performances.

However, what is noteworthy here is that the group of famous artists, despite their age, perform with great power, almost closing the gap with professional actors; some troupes have trained young artists to succeed them. “They have good voices, expressing the soul of hát bội and creating a good impression on tourists,” People’s Artist Xuân Hợi shared.

Mr. Nguyen Nhat Minh, Head of Boi Phuoc An Theater Troupe, Tuy Phuoc District, explained: “When the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, all amateur theater troupes in Binh Dinh Province were forced to stop operating. Without touring or traveling to many places, the “managers, managers”, actors, and musicians all fell into unemployment. In order to earn an income and take care of their families, many people had to look for new jobs.”

According to Mr. Nguyen Nhat Minh, we are very excited about this festival, because it has been nearly 10 years since the province organized the festival again. Everyone enthusiastically registered to participate and practice. Although there are still many difficulties in finding young people to pass on the profession, at the festival, I saw some groups with young artists participating in the performance, this is a good sign for the opera stage.

Choosing a beautiful location at the Provincial Convention Center, Mr. Le Van Truong (a tourist from Quang Nam) said: “I really like watching opera. Traveling to Quy Nhon this time, I got to enjoy a “specialty” of the Central region, opera, and every troupe performed well. In my opinion, it is necessary to expand the performances of non-professional opera troupes so that the coastal city of Quy Nhon can create a new, impressive product to attract visitors.

Hat Boi (Tuong) is a unique traditional theatrical art form of Vietnam, formed on the basis of singing, dancing, music and folk performances that have existed for a long time and are very rich in the nation. Different from other theatrical forms such as Cheo, Cai Luong... Hat Boi carries a heroic tone with examples of loyalty to the country, self-sacrifice for a great cause, lessons about human behavior between the public and the private, between family and the Fatherland.

It can be said that the heroic tragedy is an aesthetic feature of Hat Boi and Hat Boi is the stage of heroes. In situations full of contradictions and tragic conflicts, the protagonists have risen up to escape the control of circumstances, acted bravely and heroically, becoming an example, a lesson for people to admire and follow.

Binh Dinh, the land of origin and spread of many types of intangible cultural heritage, typically the art of Hat Boi, Bai Choi, and traditional martial arts. In particular, Hat Boi is a scholarly performing art form imbued with traditional royal culture, expressing a unique Binh Dinh style, standing out in the large family of traditional theatrical arts nationwide, a place associated with the names revered by the Tuong stage artists as the Predecessor Dao Duy Tu and the Postdecessor Dao Tan.

Tran Quang Dieu Opera Troupe performs excerpt from "Tiet Cuong Chan Hammer" (play Ho Sanh Dan)

In Binh Dinh, in addition to Dao Tan Tuong Troupe, a public art unit under the Provincial Traditional Art Theater, there are currently more than 10 non-professional Tuong - Hat Boi art troupes operating actively. This is also a unique feature of Binh Dinh, always preserving and developing both professional and non-professional stages.

Through the ups and downs of national history, to this day, Binh Dinh's Hat Boi art still retains its inherent identity and promptly meets the enjoyment needs of audiences everywhere. The sound of Binh Dinh Hat Boi drums has had the opportunity to resonate far and wide and leave many good impressions in the hearts of international friends.

Sharing about this festival, Mr. Huynh Van Loi - Deputy Director of Binh Dinh Department of Culture and Sports hopes that the event will be an opportunity for traditional art troupes in the province to exchange, learn, and share experiences; talented artists will compete, contributing to maintaining, developing, and improving the quality of the province's non-professional theater movement, meeting the needs of creativity and enjoyment of art of the masses.

Mr. Huynh Van Loi also believes that after the festival, each of us will carry with us our love for the artists and the audience's acceptance of traditional stage art, so that the heritage of Binh Dinh opera will remain alive in the cultural flow of the nation...

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/binh-dinh-dem-di-san-hat-boi-khong-chuyen-gan-voi-du-khach-20240816141759429.htm