As many as 50 talented artists of the Vietnam Cai Luong Theatre of Hanoi and Tran Huu Trang Theatre of HCM City staged a play on April 29 in the Mekong Delta province of Long An to celebrate 100 years of cai luong (reformed opera).


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Meritorious Artist Le Tu (R), 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)


 

The 150-minute play, Thay Ba Doi (Teacher Ba Doi), portrays the career of famous musician Nguyen Quang Dai, a guru of cai luong who helped develop tai tu music, a genre of traditional music, and cai luong in the South.

It focuses on the career of the musician in 1885, when he moved from his birthplace, the central city of Hue, to Saigon (HCM City now) to teach tai tu music.

It aimed to honour the contributions of Dai in promoting Hue royal music and cai luong.

The play combined both traditional and modern performance styles. The producers at the two theatres spent a lot for the production, including costumes, sound and light effects, according to Meritorious Artist Nguyen Trung Kien, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Cai Luong Theatre, one of the play’s four directors.
 
On the occasion, businesses donated 1.8 billion VND to upgrade Van Phuoc Communal House relic site in My Le commune, Can Duoc district, where the tablet with musician Nguyen Quang Dai’s name is placed.-VNA