Preserving the identity of traditional opera

The seminar attracted the participation of more than 100 artists, experts in theater research, and journalists specializing in writing about literature and art.

Attractive because of national identity

According to experts, in 1980, People's Artist Thanh Tong (who passed away in 2016) conducted a scientific research on the topic "From Hat Boi to Cai Luong Tuong Co" (the work was accepted by the Ho Chi Minh City Theater Association) and applied the choreography of Hat Boi, with musical compositions with Vietnamese rhythms and pentatonic melodies, creating a unique appearance for Vietnamese Cai Luong Tuong Co. That is, not borrowing foreign music but distilling the quintessence to cultivate the art of Cai Luong Tuong Co. of Vietnam with national identity.

A scene from the excerpt "Wind Blows the Reed Flag" by the Blue Sky Group - Tran Huu Trang Theater performed at the discussion

According to insiders, recently, some socialized units have organized the staging of many Vietnamese historical plays such as "Gia Dinh citadel epic" (director - Meritorious Artist Hoa Ha), "Thunder of Nhu Nguyet stream" (director - Meritorious Artist Chi Linh), "Spring returns on Thang Long land" (director - Meritorious Artist Bach Long), "Royal power" (director - Meritorious Artist Le Nguyen Dat), "The legend of ancient Co Loa" (young director Duong Khon)... imbued with national identity, creating attraction and appeal to the audience.

However, at the discussion, many opinions said that there is still a situation of "borrowing" that makes viewers think they are watching "Vietnamese opera". "Chinese opera is very good, I myself at the Southern Opera Troupe have learned choreography from actors from the Shanghai Opera Troupe. But we must know how to filter and preserve our own identity" - Meritorious Artist Ca Le Hong emphasized.

To be "standard" requires proper training and investment.

According to Meritorious Artist Le Nguyen Dat, opening training classes will not be effective because they will not target the right audience, and the learning time will be too short, making it difficult to absorb. Instead, we should organize specialized training at theaters and art troupes where there are generations of young actors with talent for traditional opera.

People's Artist - Musician Ho Van Thanh also suggested organizing classes to train a generation of musicians. Currently, after the generation of musicians who are knowledgeable about classical music such as the late artist Duc Phu, the late Meritorious Artist Thanh Dung, there are only Meritorious Artist Minh Tam, musicians Thai Dung, Nguyen Phuc, Nguyen Nhit..., and not many people are still studying. If this force disappears, there will be no successors. "Most classical musicians only play out of habit, some do not know what a musical note is, showing the arrangement means giving up, this is a worrying gap" - People's Artist Ho Van Thanh worried.

Regarding costumes, artist Cong Minh is worried about the situation of "wearing whatever is available" happening in many traditional theater troupes. "This laxity causes Vietnamese historical theater to fade away, because it continues to perform through many dynasties but still uses the same costumes" - artist Cong Minh said.

People's Artist Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City, said that Ho Chi Minh City will organize a theater festival every two years, in turn according to each genre such as drama and reformed opera. In particular, units are encouraged to stage plays on the theme of Vietnamese history. Expand the "School Theater" model to enhance cultural and artisticeducation (including Vietnamese history) for the younger generation.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/giu-ban-sac-cho-cai-luong-tuong-co-196240918195637769.htm