The persistent cai luong troupes 'sing for free'

PROFESSIONAL GROUP, GOOD ARTISTS

First of all, we must mention Thanh Nga Cai Luong troupe. This was originally Thanh Minh - Thanh Nga troupe of Mrs. Tho, after 1975 it became a collective Cai Luong troupe, then in 1996 the Thanh Nga family completely let go, Mr. Hoang Ngoc An was assigned by the state to be the troupe leader, still performing Cai Luong regularly, although still bearing the collective sign, it was considered to have been socialized and self-funded.

Meritorious Artist Tam Tam and Meritorious Artist Trung Thao in the play The Legend of Buddha Shakyamuni

PHOTO: NSCC

In 2002, Mr. Hoang Ngoc An discussed with his fellow artists that they would stop singing secular opera and switch to singing religious opera, and they immediately agreed. Mr. An was talented in writing scripts on Buddhist themes, so the troupe always had more than ten plays that would take turns touring around pagodas. When he passed away, his daughter, Meritorious Artist Tam Tam, took on the role of troupe leader and changed the name to Thanh Nga Buddhist Opera Troupe. Tam Tam said: "Everyone agreed to keep the two words Thanh Nga to commemorate the famous artist loved by the audience, to commemorate the famous opera troupe of the South, a milestone in the history of opera theater".

Thanh Nga Buddhist Opera Troupe has gone through many generations of famous artists such as Tam Tam, Khanh Tuan, Bich Thuy, Huu Tai, Chieu Linh, Hieu Liem; later added Diem Thanh, Ly Thu, Thanh Phong, Hoai Nam, Duy My, Lieu Ky, Huynh Ba Thanh, Thanh Lam, Quoc Nghia... and more famous guest artists such as People's Artist Thoai Mieu, People's Artist Phuong Loan, Meritorious Artist Thoai My, Mong Tuyen. When artist Chieu Linh passed away, the whole troupe was confused when there was no one to play the role of Buddha Shakyamuni because Chieu Linh had an elegant, pure appearance, a gentle, carefree style, and was not easily replaced. Luckily, the troupe found a promising candidate in Meritorious Artist Trung Thao, a vegetarian, whose appearance and style were both extremely worthy. So the troupe continued to tour throughout the two seasons of Buddha's birthday and Vu Lan, including holidays, Quan Am and Amitabha's birthdays, sometimes accepting 4-5 shows each week, not to mention many shows on the same day that had to be turned down.

The White Orchid Troupe is also a professional troupe founded by Meritorious Artist Ut Bach Lan. More precisely, Mrs. Ut founded a group to sing at temples in the early 1990s, and then everyone said they should choose a name that was easy to remember, so they took the idea from her name. Many professional artists joined the troupe because they loved Mrs. Ut. When she passed away, artist To Chau became the troupe leader, also keeping the good nature of the troupe as before. To Chau sang and performed very well, and lived a comfortable life, so he gathered many artists such as People's Artist Le Thuy, Meritorious Artist Dieu Hien, Mong Tuyen, Thoai Mieu, Thanh Su, Phuong Hue, Chi Cuong, Hong Lan, Kim Phung, Nhat Nguyen...

In addition, many other artists, although not officially participating in any Buddhist opera troupe, are always present when there is a Buddhist event. For example, Meritorious Artists Le Tu, Ha Nhu, and Kim Luan of Tran Huu Trang Theater recently participated in the play Buddha's Life during the 2025 Vesak Festival, or Meritorious Artist Vo Minh Lam also sang Buddhist opera when invited. Most artists are very happy to accept "singing at the temple" shows.

Meritorious Artist Le Tu and Ha Nhu in the play The Life of Buddha

PHOTO: NSCC

THE TRUE MEANING OF "SINGING FOR THE TEMPLE"

We say "singing for free" because almost no troupe or artist asks for a salary, but only receives a voluntary allowance from the temple, called "blessings". Artist To Chau said: "Usually, the temple only gives each person a few hundred thousand, which is enough for makeup, gas, and costumes. If the temple is too poor, we just eat rice or receive a banh tet and then go home, and we are still happy. We are happy because we know we are contributing to spreading the Dharma, helping everyone to understand the teachings of Buddha, to understand the spirit of compassion, joy, and forgiveness, and to live more kindly. Whenever there is an invitation, we all rush off, all the way to the Central and Northern regions, and once even to America. During the Buddha's birthday and Vu Lan seasons, there are several performances in October, sitting on the bus the whole time, traveling all over the provinces and cities. Sometimes, when the schedule overlaps, we have to split into two groups to serve everyone."

The memories of singing at the temple are also very cute. Sometimes the audience picked flowers from the garden to give as gifts, sometimes they put in 10,000 or 20,000 VND. The scenery was not designed, usually just the backdrop of the temple for the ceremony, but thousands of audiences still enjoyed it and clapped like fireworks. The scripts of the Buddha's Story, Mu Lien Thanh De, Monk Cua, Prince Ajatashatru, Buddha King Tran Nhan Tong, Quan Am Thi Kinh ... are classic scripts, no matter how many times they sing them, people still love them. And the artists also know how to make their own costumes to solve the financial difficulties, and eventually their "skills" become very good, like Mr. Le Long Ho, who is now a respectable tailor.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nhung-doan-cai-luong-ben-bi-hat-chua-185250510205704256.htm