People’s Artist Bach Tuyet, a cai luong (reformed opera) performer, has made waves with her new music video Mang Tiền Về Cho Mẹ (Bring Money to Your Mother), released on YouTube on January 3. Photo courtesy of the producer

The video for Mang Tiền Về Cho Mẹ (Bring Money to Your Mother) is a cai luong version of the same song by rapper Đen Vâu. 

Her version has attracted more than 115,800 views on YouTube.

Rapper Đen’s version, released on YouTube last month, attracted more than 22 million views. 

“I love the music in Mang Tiền Về Cho Mẹ by rapper Đen Vâu. His song on the love of a son for his mother left a very strong impression in my heart,” said Tuyet, who has been in cai luong for more than 60 years. 

“Cai luong, a very unique and old genre of traditional theatre from the south, should change to meet the tastes of young audiences.” 

In her version of the song, Tuyet combines cai luong and rap music, which has dominated the Vietnamese music industry in recent years. 

“I fell in love cai luong after listening to Tuyet’s Mang Tiền Về Cho Mẹ,” said Nguyen Hai Bang, a first-year student of the HCM City University of Theatre and Cinematography.

People’s Artist Bach Tuyet has worked to keep cai luong alive. Photo courtesy of KMedia

Another video by Tuyet that has attracted young fans is Em Gái Mưa (Rainy Girl), released on YouTube in 2018. 

In the work, Tuyet creates a cai luong version of a 2017 hit by pop star Huong Tram.

The video attracted more than 19,100 views after three months of release, and now has 448,950.

“I hope my videos on YouTube will help fans understand why and how cai luong is the spirit of the Vietnamese people," said Tuyet. 

“To preserve our traditional music, we need to expand it among younger generations.”

Cai luong plays are performed at traditional festivals and anniversaries in the Cuu Long (Mekong) River Delta provinces of Can Tho, Soc Trang, Ca Mau and Bac Lieu.

The art features the hopes and dreams of southern people, who love singing cai luong after a hard day of working in the fields.

Tuyet began singing cai luong when she was a young girl. She was a theatre star in the 1960-70s and performed for several leading cai luong theatres in the region 

She has offered training courses providing young participants with performance skills in singing vong co (nostalgia tunes) and cai luong, and has wrote and released many books and documents on the operatic art form. 

Source: Vietnam News

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