"Fire tests gold" - The story of the family heirloom of cai luong

• Cai luong artists in the digital age
• Meritorious Artist Kim Tu Long: Hoping for Cai Luong to return to its golden age
• Huong Tram Opera Troupe - Efforts to "preserve the gems and keep the gold"
• People's Artist Bach Tuyet: Cai Luong must also adapt to develop

The 70s and 80s of the 20th century were the most flourishing time of Cai Luong . The powerful Cai Luong families associated with many generations of audiences include: Bau Thang - Minh To, Huynh Long, Huynh Mai... Many famous artists come from these families such as: Thanh Tong, Xuan Yen, Bach Le... Along with that are the plays that captivate millions of audiences everywhere every time the Cai Luong stage lights up such as: "The poem of the saddle", "The goddess offers the five spirits", "The sound of the drum of Me Linh", "Luc Van Tien - Kieu Nguyet Nga".

Cai luong is in decline. Cai luong families are also gradually fading from the limelight, but their descendants still maintain. The Minh To clan has given birth to many talented young artists such as: Meritorious Artist Que Tran (daughter of People's Artist Thanh Tong), Meritorious Artist Tu Suong, Ngoc Nga, Thanh Thao (daughter of Artist Thanh Loan and Artist Truong Son), Trinh Trinh (daughter of Artist Xuan Yen)... They started practicing their craft right from the cradle of their family and became famous with many cai luong videos of the Bach Long Children's Troupe. Each of these descendants has their own way of reviving the family's art.

A typical example is the story of artist Gia Bao. With his grandfather, Meritorious Artist Bao Quoc, Mrs. Thanh Nga, Uncle Huu Chau, Uncle Huu Loc, Gia Bao is self-aware of the responsibility to preserve and promote the "huge" cultural values ​​that his ancestors left behind. From drama, comedy..., he started to work as a show producer to continuously produce the program "Talented people of Vietnam" which gathered famous artists of the time such as: Minh Canh, Phuong Lien, Le Thuy, Minh Vuong... The excerpts he chose to re-enact were all plays associated with the family's name. To invite the stars of the time to reappear and recall the "glorious and splendid" time of Cai Luong, it is not a matter of money but also of honor.

He said: “In each program "Talented Vietnamese", I want audiences of all ages to watch, listen and enjoy the unique singing, acting and dancing of the "big names" who have created the reputation of the art of Cai Luong. That is also the way for children and grandchildren like me to continue the artistic genealogy of many generations that have built such a good foundation.”

Artist Gia Bao invited many "big names" in the Cai Luong theater to perform the program Legendary Night. (Photo provided by the character)

If Gia Bao does many cai luong live shows, another descendant of the Bau Thang - Minh To ancient cai luong family, Le Nguyen Truong Giang, makes a cai luong web drama "Hoi su co nhan". Choosing the web drama format for cai luong is the way Le Nguyen Truong Giang wants to bring cai luong closer to young people, with the content of each cai luong MV being concise, not taking much time to watch and can be watched over and over again whenever free.

What the descendants of this cải lương family want is to nurture cải lương on an independent path. He knows what the current cải lương audience wants. It is not easy to make the audience sit and watch a play that lasts about 2 and a half hours. They like to watch artists dance on stage, like to listen to music arranged in ancient and modern styles, like beautiful costumes... then he will wrap it up in a cải lương web drama like a music video to promote it to the public more widely.

Le Nguyen Truong Giang confided: “I am haunted by the phrase: “Cai luong has faded away with time”. The golden age of our ancestors has passed, the stage haloes that my uncles, aunts, and siblings have experienced... but my generation no longer exists. For about two or three years after graduating from the Academy of Theatre and Cinema, I have never stood on stage to sing tuong. I have done many jobs to earn money to invest in cai luong web dramas and other shows. I volunteer to be the firewood collector to keep the small fire burning, warming the passion and satisfying the desire to stand on stage of a cai luong family heir”.

Le Nguyen Truong Giang is a descendant of the Bau Thang - Minh To family of traditional opera artists. He actively writes plays and stages many plays to help the opera stage shine. (Photo provided by the character)

If we talk about the cai luong heirs who keep the family fire burning, it would be a mistake not to mention Binh Tinh. From childhood to adulthood, Binh Tinh has become increasingly aware of her great sense of responsibility over the years. Looking around the large cai luong family of Huynh Long, the female artist could not help but feel sad when seeing her brothers and sisters choosing other careers and not following in the footsteps of art.

After her brother, Artist Chinh Nhan, passed away, all the responsibilities and hopes fell on her alone. The female artist had even more heavy thoughts and struggles to find a way to continue her career and bring back the glory of her family's cai luong troupe.

Currently, Binh Tinh is alone leading the Huynh Long traditional opera troupe to regularly perform at Hau Giang theater. Every month, the troupe has new performances to serve the audience. The young producer confided: “My brother and parents have all passed away, and I am the only successor, so I have to take responsibility. Because my grandparents have built the opera troupe for 3 or 4 generations, it would be a waste to let it fall into disrepair. Not to mention, if there is no stage, where will I find a place to sing? There is a lot of pressure. I have to sing in many places to support the troupe, to pay enough salary for the artists and backstage staff. My luck is that my uncles, aunts, and talented artists such as Hoai Linh, Thoai My, Kim Tu Long, Ngoc Huyen... all wholeheartedly support me without regard to salary. That is also the blessing that the opera family has left behind, so that children and grandchildren like me have a foundation to continue on.”

There are many other descendants of Cai Luong such as Tu Suong, Trinh Trinh, Que Tran, Le Thanh Thao... who are still diligently participating in plays on large and small stages. Each play is invested in innovation, with strong aesthetics, from costumes, choreography to stage design. They hope to bring Cai Luong closer to young people; especially ancient Cai Luong, the author and artist, in addition to preserving the core of the play, must also know how to reasonably change some ancient languages ​​to suit the present, easy to understand...

Meritorious Artist Tu Suong also let her children pursue a career in singing and acting, continuing the art of reformed opera that the family has tried to build and preserve. (Photo provided by the character)

Cai luong may not be in its golden age, but it still lives on in the rhythm of the times with the passion of the next generation to continue the family's glory./.

Lam Khanh

Source: https://baocamau.vn/lua-thu-vang-cau-chuyen-truyen-nhan-gia-toc-cai-luong-a34417.html