Spreading the art of traditional Vietnamese opera.

Students at Pham Phu Thu Primary School participate in a competition to draw traditional Vietnamese opera masks. Photo: VL

Evoking love for traditional theater

Le Quynh Nhu, a student in class 4B at Pham Phu Thu Primary School (Dien Phuong ward, Dien Ban district), carefully colors each stroke on the mask she just received.

After about 30 minutes, Quynh Nhu completed the mask with a predominantly red color scheme, representing the uprightness of the character in traditional Vietnamese opera.

Le Quynh Nhu is one of 26 students from Pham Phu Thu Primary School participating in the traditional Vietnamese opera mask painting competition organized by the Culture and Sports Department of Dien Ban town in coordination with Dien Phuong ward as part of the "Homeland Festival" event.

As the hometown of the playwright Nguyen Hien Dinh, the traditional Vietnamese opera mask drawing competition became an event that helped to evoke in each student an initial understanding of this traditional art form.

Nguyen Hoang Ngan, a student in class 4A at Pham Phu Thu Primary School, shared that even though she had never seen a traditional Vietnamese opera and didn't understand what it was, she could still sense the "fierce" or "gentle" nature of the characters through the colors of their masks.

"I like bright colors, so I chose shades of blue to paint my theatrical masks," said Hoang Ngan.

Watching the children's eyes intently focusing on each brushstroke at the competition, one can truly see the allure of traditional Vietnamese theater for these young "artists."

In Vietnamese traditional theater (tuong), masks are considered an important and highly symbolic performance tool, contributing to the essence of the character and leaving a lasting impression on the audience.

Therefore, theatrical masks on stage are often painted in bold, clear details to portray the character's personality—good, evil/good, or tragic/comedic—thereby enhancing the artist's expressiveness.

Thanks to these faces, the audience can understand the psychology, personality, and social class of the character from the moment the actor steps onto the stage.

Mr. Pham Van Ba, Head of the Culture and Sports Department of Dien Ban town, affirmed that the competition will help students better understand traditional Vietnamese opera and appreciate the beautiful cultural aspects of the nation.

This, in turn, contributes to shaping the emotional connection to traditional Vietnamese opera (tuong) and preserving and promoting the traditional cultural values of this art form in Quang Nam province.

Promoting the value of traditional Vietnamese opera.

Tracing back through history, Quang Nam-style opera (with its setting in Quang Nam, Da Nang , and Quang Ngai) emerged and developed from the early 17th century to the late 18th century.

Dien Ban will incorporate excerpts from traditional Vietnamese opera into local cultural events. Photo: VL

It began with the establishment and operation of two theater troupes, Duc Giao (now located in Que Chau commune, Que Son district) and Khanh Tho (now located in Tam Thai commune, Phu Ninh district), in the early 19th century.

From the beginning of the 20th century to 1920, traditional Vietnamese opera flourished most brilliantly with the establishment of the Chu Chau Theater (Hoi An), the Vinh Dien Opera School (Dien Ban)... along with a series of other opera schools in Da Nang such as Mieu Bong, Cho Moi, Nam O...

Dien Ban is the birthplace of famous traditional opera playwrights such as Nguyen Hien Dinh and Tong Phuoc Pho… Therefore, preserving and promoting traditional opera art not only helps spread traditional cultural values but also aims to create a tourism product.

For many years, the Dien Ban Museum has displayed costumes, masks, and props from traditional Vietnamese opera (Tuong) for visitors and researchers. Currently, it continues to serve as a valuable repository of this traditional cultural art form.

Today, although traditional Vietnamese opera is no longer as popular as it once was, it remains attractive and captivating to a segment of the population and tourists.

During a recent performance of traditional Vietnamese opera excerpts in Dien Phuong ward (Dien Ban district), witnessing the interest and enthusiasm of locals and tourists, Mr. Van Ba Son - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism - affirmed: "Besides the potential advantages in location, nature, culture, and traditional crafts, traditional opera will become a unique tourism product and service if it is refined, with scripts that are relatable, easy to understand, and more suitable for younger tourists."

Mr. Pham Van Ba added that the success of the traditional opera mask painting competition and the audience's reception of the excerpts have inspired ideas to spread the love of traditional opera art to all levels of society, especially young people and students.

"Initially, the unit will prepare a report to submit to the People's Committee of the town proposing the organization of regular annual performances of excerpts from traditional Vietnamese opera. In addition, we will also try to incorporate traditional opera into some local cultural events."

In particular, the Department of Culture and Sports advises the People's Committee of the town on coordinating with the town's education sector to periodically organize a competition for drawing traditional Vietnamese opera masks in schools, thereby fostering a love for traditional Vietnamese opera among students of all levels.

"In particular, we will incorporate the art of Tuong (Vietnamese classical opera) into the intangible cultural heritage preservation content in the Dien Ban Cultural Project currently being developed," Mr. Ba said.

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