Cải lương

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A noted cải lương singer, Ngọc Huyền
Popular artist Mộng Tuyền performs the leading role in a Cải lương Presentation

Tuồng cải lương (Vietnamese: [tûəŋ ka᷉ːj lɨəŋ], Hán-Nôm: 從改良) often referred to as Cải lương (Chữ Hán: 改良), roughly "reformed theater") is a form of modern folk opera in Vietnam. It blends southern Vietnamese folk songs, classical music, hát tuồng (a classical theatre form based on Chinese opera), and modern spoken drama.

History and description[edit]

Xử án Bàng Quý Phi, performed by the Phước Cương troupe, c. 1928
The scene of Tự Đức offering the whip in Cải lương

Cải lương originated in Southern Vietnam in the early 20th century and blossomed in the 1930s as a theatre of the middle class during the country's French colonial period. Cải lương is now promoted as a national theatrical form. Unlike the other folk forms, it continued to prove popular with the masses as late as the 1970s and the 1980s, although it is now in decline.[1][2]

Cải lương can be compared to a sort of play with the added aspect of Vọng cổ. This term literally means "nostalgia for the past", it is a special type of singing with the background music often being the đàn tranh zither or the đàn ghi-ta (Vietnamized guitar). In a typical cải lương play, the actresses and actors would use a combination of regular spoken dialogue and vọng cổ to express their thoughts and emotions.

Promotional poster for the play Tây Thi in Cải lương

Cải lương normally highlights/praises traditional Vietnamese moral values. There are mainly two genres of cải lương: ancient stories (tuồng cổ) and societal (xã hội).

The Guitar phím lõm" – instrument used for Cải lương

The societal genre (cải lương xã hội) consists of stories about modern Vietnamese society. The plots deal with a romantic love story blended with family or social relationships. The stories also explore cultural norms, social norms, and other aspects of Vietnamese society, e.g. Đời Cô Lựu, Tô Ánh Nguyệt. This genre can be somehow described as tragedy, but with a happy ending. However, a few societal plays such as "Ra Giêng Anh Cưới Em" are comedic and light-hearted.

In the ancient stories, the actor/actress dresses in an old fashioned costume. The plot is based on a tale, legend or historical story of the feudal system, where kings and warriors still existed. For example, Bên Cầu Dệt Lụa, Lục Vân Tiên, Tiếng Trống Mê Linh etc. Many plots come from Chinese historic or ancient legends. Lương Sơn Bá-Chúc Anh Đài is based on the Chinese legend of butterfly lovers. In ancient stories, Hồ Quảng, a genre of Chinese opera may be mixed. Hence, some ancient stories may be called Cải lương Hồ Quảng, which is more like a musical. In addition to regular speech, ca cải lương, and vọng cổ, several melodies are incorporated into the play. These melodies are reused through different plays, however the words are changed to fit the context of the plays. Ancient stories can be characterized by beautiful, elaborate costumes comprising beautiful and colourful dress pieces; large, beautiful glittery hairpieces; elaborate warrior armour; and elaborate warrior head pieces.

Notable singers[edit]

Before 1975[edit]

After 1975[edit]

  • Phượng Mai (born 1956)
  • Vũ Linh (1958-2023)
  • Tài Linh
  • Châu Thanh
  • Thanh Hằng
  • Phương Hồng Thủy
  • Linh Tâm
  • Thanh Thanh Tâm
  • Phượng Hằng
  • Phượng Loan
  • Cẩm Tiên
  • Kim Tử Long
  • Thoại Mỹ
  • Vũ Luân
  • Chí Linh
  • Vân Hà
  • Tú Sương
  • Trinh Trinh
  • Lê Thanh Thảo
  • Quế Trân
  • Ngọc Huyền
  • Thanh Ngân
  • Trọng Phúc
  • Tấn Giao
  • Kim Tiểu Long
  • Phi Nhung (1970-2021)
  • Mạnh Quỳnh
  • Hương Thủy
  • Linh Tuấn
  • Thanh Huyền

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "VietNamNet – Mekong Delta nostalgic for cai luong's golden days". Archived from the original on 1 October 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2008. Mekong Delta nostalgic for cai luong’s golden days. 21 July 2007
  2. ^ "VietNamNet – Beyond remedy for Cai luong". Archived from the original on 3 November 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2008. Beyond remedy for Cai luong. VietNamNet Bridge. 21 August 2008

External links[edit]

Media related to Tuồng cải lương at Wikimedia Commons

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