Traditional Vietnamese opera takes to the streets.

For older audiences, these performances evoked memories of the golden age of Vietnamese traditional opera; for younger generations, it was also a way to bring Vietnamese traditional opera closer to them...

For the past few months, a performance of traditional Vietnamese opera (a collaboration between the Ho Chi Minh City Traditional Opera Theatre and the Nguyen Du Cultural and Sports Club, District 1) has been held regularly every month on Bui Vien pedestrian street (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) at 8 PM on the middle Saturday or Sunday of the month.

The actors were all happy to perform on a small platform in the middle of the street, where the distance between the artist and the audience was closer than on a stage. The artists could talk to the audience, take photos with foreign tourists, and listen to them express their interest in traditional opera, the costumes, and the makeup.

Before the performance, the organizers prepared bilingual leaflets to distribute to the audience, introducing the content of the excerpts. However, for greater convenience, the performance content will soon be pre-recorded in both Vietnamese and English, played about an hour before the show and before each segment. Different excerpts from traditional Vietnamese opera will also be performed monthly to avoid monotony. Mr. Nguyen Hoan, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Traditional Opera Theatre, said: “In the upcoming performance, the theatre will introduce two new excerpts: 'Gia Thi Lac De' and 'Cong Chua Lo Lam '. At the same time, the content of the plays has been translated into modern language, limiting the use of vernacular words so that the audience, especially young audiences, can understand them more easily.”

For older audiences, these performances evoke memories of the golden age of Vietnamese traditional opera; for younger audiences, it's also a way to bring Vietnamese traditional opera closer to them, reaching out to young audiences who will continue to "nurture" traditional art forms and pass them on to future generations.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hat-boi-xuong-pho-185742803.htm