Meritorious Artist Le Tu (right), who has nearly 20 years in the theatre, one of the four artists to play the role of Thay Ba Doi (Teacher Ba Doi), a cai luong play featuring 50 veteran artists that celebrates 100 years of the art. (Photo courtesy of the producer) HCM City (VNA) - A play featuring50 artists of two leading theatres in Hanoi and HCM City will be staged laterthis month to celebrate 100 years of cai luong (reformed opera).
The 150-minute show, Thay Ba Doi (Teacher Ba Doi),portrays the career of famous musician Nguyen Quang Dai, a guru of cai luong whohelped develop tai tu music, a genre of traditional music,and cai luong in the South.
The play, which stars talented artists of the Vietnam CaiLuong Theatre of Hanoi and Tran Huu Trang Theatre of HCM City, willcombine both traditional and modern performance styles.
The producers at both theatres have spent a lot for theproduction, including costumes, sound and light effects, according toMeritorious
Artist Nguyen Trung Kien, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Cai Luong Theatre,one of the play’s four directors.
"We want to satisfy audiences who want to enjoy cai luongwith something new," said Kien in a recent interview with HCMCity-based Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.
"We promise a great spectacle of music and images."
Thay Ba Doi focuses on the career of musician Dai in 1885,when he moved from his birthplace, the central city of Hue, to Saigon (HCM Citynow) to teach tai tu music.
The play highlights the contributions of Dai in promoting Hueroyal music and cai luong.
Four veteran artists, Thanh Tuan, Le Tu, Quang Khai and XuanVinh, Director of the Vietnam Cai Luong Theatre, were invited to play therole of Dai.
The work also attracts cai luong stars Que Tran andVo Minh Luan of Tran Huu Trang Theatre.
"Cai luong will attract younger audiences if itprovides a new and modern style," Kien said.
To impress audiences, Kien and his staff have decided to useMeritorious Artist Doan Bang to participate in stage design and making costumes.
The performers have been practising singing and dance skillsfor hours each day to provide theatre fans "a great show with strong andmelodic voices and appealing and powerful stage presence,” Kien said.
Thay Ba Doi will be staged at 8pm on April 28 and 29 at BenThanh Theatre, 6 Mac Dinh Chi street in District 1. It will air live on VietNam Television and Ho Chi Minh Television.
It will be staged in Long An Province.-VNA
VNA
