Introducing Cai Luong art to the capital's public and international audiences

According to the policy of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the opera-cai luong play “Sweet Star Fruit Branch” will be a cultural product serving the public of the capital and international visitors to Hanoi's Old Quarter.

The work shows the beauty of traditional Vietnamese art.

The Vietnam Opera House has just completed the opera-cai luong play “Sweet Starfruit Branch” to introduce a traditional theatrical art form to the capital’s public and international visitors.

People's Artist Trieu Trung Kien, Director of the Vietnam Opera House, said the play is part of the project "Performing arts program associated with the space of Hanoi's Old Quarter serving tourists" of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism .

The theater will soon complete the introduction and English subtitles to serve foreign audiences.

The work takes viewers back to the early 20th century, when the Vietnamese people lived in a situation of "one neck, two yokes," under the two layers of oppression of the feudal-colonial regime.

The play revolves around the life of Khe - a young girl, the daughter of a tenant farmer family. Khe's tragedy begins when she falls into the sights of the butler Quan Bau and Mr. Ca Hoanh - a typical example of the exploitative class in the countryside in the first half of the 20th century. However, the crimes, dark plots, and meanness of both Quan Bau and Mr. Ca Hoanh are carefully concealed under the guise of tolerant superiors and acts of kindness.

According to People's Artist Trieu Trung Kien, the play recalls the painful memories of the past to see the true value of independence, autonomy, peace and social stability today, thereby promoting the spirit of great solidarity, towards a new era, the era of the Vietnamese people's rise.

“The investment in staging and performing the play 'Sweet Starfruit Branch' is also an opportunity for the Vietnam Cai Luong Theater to present and orient its artistic style, promoting the good and beautiful features of Vietnamese Cai Luong art - a traditional art form, bearing the characteristics of Eastern narrative but skillfully combining with Western theatrical art with the ultimate goal of reaching more and more domestic and international audiences, especially young audiences, to preserve and promote traditional Vietnamese theatrical art,” affirmed Mr. Trieu Trung Kien.

The play is performed by artists of the Vietnam Opera House.

Compared to many conventional cai luong plays, the work “Sweet Starfruit Branch” has a shorter duration, more suitable for tourists . The performance venue - 22 Hang Buom Cultural and Art Center brings a new and unique space, completely different from traditional stages. The audience seats and the performance area have no distance, allowing artists and audiences to interact more... This is a new feature in cai luong theater art.

Attending the performance on the evening of December 30, Mr. Lee Sang Rae (Korea) was very interested in watching the play. Although he did not fully understand the meaning of the lyrics, he still grasped the content of the work.

“I found the play to have many unexpected details, a great plot and music. The arrangement of the seats in the middle of the performance space was also very interesting, making the audience feel like they were immersed in the work,” said audience member Lee Sang Rae./.

According to VNA

Source: https://baobinhduong.vn/gioi-thieu-nghe-thuat-cai-luong-den-cong-chung-thu-do-va-khan-gia-quoc-te-a338905.html