Preserving intangible cultural heritage requires limiting theatrical adaptations.

Many people mistakenly believe that a recognized heritage site must necessarily be widely publicized so that many people know about it.

Heritage must be preserved within the community that created it. That is the principle. However, as life develops, many heritage values ​​are supplemented, updated, and sometimes adapted based on existing material. Preserving intangible heritage values ​​requires limiting adaptation, especially avoiding theatricalization, in order to bring heritage closer to the public and serve community life.

While not listed as heritage in need of urgent protection like Ca Tru and Hat Xoan, the folk songs Vi, Giam, Don Ca Tai Tu, and Quan Ho – intangible cultural heritages with widespread popularity in the community – are considered to be at risk of being "staged." Many believe that the true performance spaces for these folk art forms have changed. The traditional weaving and hat-making guilds are gone, the riverside banyan trees are gone; the rice-pounding and net-pulling ceremonies where young men and women exchanged love songs are no more. Instead, the dazzling lights of the stage and modern sound equipment easily bring the melodies of Vong Co, Quan Ho, Vi, and Giam to the public more quickly.

Festivals are also a way to preserve intangible cultural heritage. However, overuse should be avoided to prevent the heritage from becoming theatrical.

In that context, cultural workers skillfully brought these legacies to the community by changing the performance spaces and adapting the content to suit modern life. Traditional folk songs like Ví, Giặm Nghệ Tĩnh, Quan Họ, and Đờn ca tài tử were incorporated into theaters, performed on stage in plays or clubs, and broadcast on radio and television.

Mr. Pham Tien Dung, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Nghe An province, said: "It's not like in the old days when people sang in the fields or on the rivers. But those performance styles are also clearly demonstrated through the activities of the performance club. Whether or not theatricalization affects the heritage, the club format is a preparatory step, ensuring sustainability in protecting the heritage."

Many people mistakenly believe that a recognized heritage must be widely disseminated so that many people know about it. However, cultural conservationists argue that no matter how widely it is disseminated, it must still adhere to the principle of preserving what it has been passed down and inherited. Folk songs can become derivative values ​​in the works of contemporary musicians. However, if not careful, this can sometimes lead to confusion, with the heritage being modernized and transformed into something else. As Professor Nguyen Van Huy, a member of the National Heritage Council, stated, it is necessary to clearly distinguish between heritage created and passed down by the community for generations and elements of adaptation.

“When presenting folk art on stage, we must clearly explain to the audience that these are adaptations, taken from the material of <i>đờn ca tài tử</i>, <i>ví giặm</i>, and <i>quan họ</i>… brought to the stage so that people can see that the singing style of the past is like this, and the singing style of today is like this. Whether the audience prefers a particular style depends on their psychology. But having said that, the work of preservation still involves preserving ancient songs, ancient melodies, and ancient dances, which are the foundation for sustaining that heritage as it enters modern society,” Professor Nguyen Van Huy emphasized.

People learn to sing folk songs - a way to keep heritage alive in the community.

As the performance spaces of many intangible cultural heritages change, these heritages will have to adapt their functions accordingly. This is inevitable when incorporating heritage into clubs, theaters, or developing them into tourism products, bringing them closer to the public. However, according to Dr. Le Thi Minh Ly, Director of the Center for Research and Promotion of Cultural Heritage Values, when bringing heritage to the stage or on television, it is necessary to clearly define the performance forms, and the heritage must be introduced by the public.

"It would be great if we had festivals where we gave the community the opportunity to showcase their heritage and participate in presenting it. However, if the festival is purely professional, it falls into a different category. It's not about heritage preservation, but rather about professional performing arts. The key is that organizers and those supporting the community must take that into account," Ms. Ly stated.

Music researcher Dang Hoanh Loan also believes that while performance methods must be adapted to suit different performance spaces, it is still necessary to avoid theatricalization by preserving the original music, melodies, methods, and ways of singing.

"It's very important to preserve the original melody and style. Just like at a festival, if the artists go on stage and sing the exact song, that's enough. And that's preservation. Nowadays, people often turn it into clubs. And once it's turned into a club, there are performers and listeners, whereas in the past there wasn't. We are under pressure from history, and now we need to preserve the melody and language so we can integrate it into other aspects of modern life," researcher Dang Hoanh Loan shared.

If Quan Ho folk singing is performed collectively to set records, Xoan folk singing is transformed into traditional opera, the most dramatic and sacred parts of the Giong Festival are revived and performed repeatedly, or the ancient melodies of the Central Highlands gongs are mixed with modern instruments like organs, guitars, and electronic sound systems, and are used by many people for dancing and entertainment… then these are alarming signs of the danger of theatricalizing heritage, a manifestation of heritage becoming alien to its creators, and people no longer seeing it as their own. Therefore, the most sustainable and best way to preserve cultural heritage is to limit theatricalization, so that heritage can live within the community.

According to VOV.VN