Vien Chau - Journey and Heritage of Vietnamese Cai Luong Art

Within the framework of “ Ho Chi Minh City Literature and Arts Days 2025,” on the evening of October 31, the art program “Vien Chau - Words of Love on the Piano” took place in Dat Do commune, a historical site in the South and the hometown of the People's Armed Forces Heroine Vo Thi Sau.

The program aims to honor and pay tribute to the great contributions of People's Artist, composer Vien Chau, who is known as the "King of vọng cổ" and a giant of Vietnamese cải lương art. This is also an expression of deep gratitude from artists and the public to the talented artist who devoted his entire life to the national stage.

At the event, People's Artist Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City, said: The Organizing Committee hopes that the program will honor artist Vien Chau for his career in building and developing the art of reformed theater, preserving the values of the cultural and artistic heritage typical of the South and Vietnam; at the same time, showing the gratitude of the Party Committee, Government and people of Ho Chi Minh City for his important contributions.

In this meaningful performance, showing respect for the great talents of the Cai Luong stage, most of the famous talents and artists such as: People's Artist Le Thuy, Minh Vuong, Trong Huu, Thanh Nam, Thoai Mieu, Trong Phuc..., many of whom are students of composer Vien Chau, gathered together. They came to express their gratitude and send to the audience his famous Don Ca Tai Tu works.

The show recreates classic vọng cổ works and famous cải lương excerpts associated with the name Viễn Châu, divided into 7 chapters, including: "Sixteen Stringed Instruments;" "Immortal vọng cổ songs;" "Who are you;" "Southern Mother;" "Passed-over sentiments;" "Hải vọng cổ;" "Cai lương excerpts."

Typical works performed include: the scene "Portrait of Huynh Tri Ba," traditional songs "Love of the Mat Seller," "Green Betel Leaves," "A Moment of Sorrow," modern folk songs "Who Are You?" "Vo Dong So - Bach Thu Ha," humorous vọng cổ "Mr. Truong Tien Buu," scene songs "Southern Mother," "I Go to Huong Pagoda," "The Last Night at Ben Ngu" and excerpts from "The Love Story of Han Mac Tu" ...

Portrait of Huynh Tri Ba. (Photo: Huynh Son/VNA)

Mr. Ho Van Loi, former Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the former Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, former Secretary of the Dat Do District Party Committee, shared: “I am very happy to attend the program honoring People's Artist, composer Vien Chau. Dat Do, Ba Ria-Vung Tau has always been a land with a tradition of developing amateur music. After the merger, I hope that the amateur music art of Dat Do commune will be in harmony with the development on the big stages of the city and will be preserved and promoted in the hearts of the people of Ho Chi Minh City in general and Dat Do commune in particular.”

“Ho Chi Minh City Literature and Arts Days” is not only an occasion to look back on 50 years of achievements and creativity, but also the beginning of a new stage of development.

People's Artist, composer Vien Chau (real name Huynh Tri Ba), although born into a wealthy aristocratic family in Tra Vinh, was passionate about amateur music. He made key contributions to the development of reformed theater art.

He left behind a huge legacy of more than 2,000 vọng cổ songs and over 70 cải lương plays. His compositions are not only sophisticated in lyrics but also carry profound realistic values, reflecting the life and social psychology of Vietnam through many historical periods. This helps the public understand and love the art of Don ca tài tử and cải lương more, contributing greatly to the preservation and promotion of the nation's precious heritage./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/vien-chau-hanh-trinh-va-di-san-nghe-thuat-cai-luong-viet-nam-post1074222.vnp