Concerns about Nghe Tinh folk drama

The proud steps

Starting from the early plays such as "Chiec cay Ong Tu", "Nang dau moi", "Con muong thuy loi", "Ca phe ron rat", "Khong phai toi", "Khi ban doi di nang" in the 1960s..., the theater stage has made changes to have plays that have had a strong spreading effect on the traditional stage of the country. The public has known plays such as: Ong vua hoa ho (1987), Hai ngan oan trai (1988), Gia doi phai tra (1993), "Dan nhan rong tu cau ho vi, giam" (1997); "Sang mai niem tin" (1999); Loi nguoi loi cua nuoc non (2007)... In these plays, the melodiesFolk songshas been applied and created skillfully, becoming the soul of the plays.

To achieve such results, we cannot help but remember the difficult, hard years, struggling with each performance, each role, dubbing each tune, each piece of music by the collective of actors of Nghe An Folk Song Theater (now the Provincial Traditional Arts Center). That is also the immeasurable effort of the authors, directors, musicians, artists of the theater and long-time collaborators. We can name familiar musicians, directors, and authors of adaptations such as: Le Hung, Xuan Huyen, Ho Huu Thoi, Thanh Luu, Van The, Dinh Bao, Dinh Dac, Ngoc At, An Ninh, Hong Luu... These names have contributed to the successful experimentation of over 80 plays, nearly 200 adapted folk melodies (songs that develop folk songs) of different characteristics and genres, including plays that have left a strong impression.

Do you remember the early 90s of the last century when there were few forms of cultural entertainment and the means of communication were still poor and rudimentary, folk opera was warmly welcomed by the public. Each performance was a spiritual feast for the public. There were performances at Ben Thuy theater that were overloaded, the audience crowded inside and outside, those without tickets stood outside just to listen to the sound. That was also the golden age of folk opera in Nghe An when artists such as People's Artist Hong Luu, People's Artist An Ninh, Meritorious Artist Hong Duong, Meritorious Artist Minh Thanh, Meritorious Artist Duc Lam, Meritorious Artist Thuy Kien, were still in their twenties with their voices and beauty at their peak. Those were also the times when Nghe Tinh folk opera won every performance, with countless gold and silver medals.

Later, although the theater stage has been in decline due to the market economy with new forms of entertainment that attract young people. However, many plays are still praised by the theater world and have achieved many high achievements such as:“"A single tree cannot make a forest" - Gold Medal 2010, play“"The Hidden Corner of Life" was awarded a special prize (both plays participated in the National Tuong and Folk Song Theater Festival);““The Executioner” - Gold Medal at the National Professional Theatre Festival on the Image of the People's Public Security Soldier (2010); the play “The Race in the Dark” - Gold Medal in 2013, the play “Teacher and Student”-2016 Gold Medal, Play“The Am But Moc Case” - Gold Medal of the National Professional Theatre Festival on the Image of the People's Police, the play “Canh Co Trong Storm” - Gold Medal in 2022. It can be said that over the course of more than 50 years (from 1972 - 2024), Nghe Tinh folk drama has achieved remarkable achievements. The drama completed the task of experimenting with the theatricalization of Nghe Tinh folk songs, and was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as “National Drama” in 1985.

Since Nghe Tinh folk drama was recognized as “National Drama”, Nghe An Traditional Arts Center has been assigned the task of serving political tasks and serving the people in the province every year. Every year, the Center continues to experiment with the theatricalization of folk songs with new plays, using previous experiences and researching and learning new ways to more strongly approach the tastes of the public in the digital age.

Struggling to approach tastes

However, after the golden age of the 80s and 90s, Nghe Tinh folk operas were rarely performed on tour, there were no more outdoor performances with crowded audiences, no more jostling to buy tickets to see the opera. There were also fewer plays, the Provincial Traditional Arts Center only performed 1-2 plays per year to serve important events or to participate in professional theater festivals.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, when the whole country had to practice social distancing, the Provincial Traditional Arts Center released many skits that were broadcast on digital platforms and the Center's fanpages... However, the amount of interaction was not very high, making it difficult to compete with other forms of entertainment.

Concerned about this issue, People's Artist Hong Luu said: "Many plays are really famous among connoisseurs, but in recent years we have not been able to tour because entertainment tastes are different now, very few audiences spend money to buy tickets to the Theater to watch plays." People's Artist Hong Luu also said that the Center once cherished many plans to re-perform Nghe Tinh folk plays that were once famous to serve the people, but it was very difficult to do so due to funding issues and many other factors, including the current entertainment tastes of the public.

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We are trying to complete the goal of performing a Nghe Tinh folk play every month on the Folk Theater stage. However, we have only been able to perform “Words of People, Words of the Country” and “Vang Sang”. Although the actors are very enthusiastic and spend a lot of time and effort, we have not yet achieved the goal of selling tickets and attracting a large audience.

Musician Quoc Chung - Director of the Provincial Traditional Arts Center

Musician Quoc Chung also added that the Center will soon upgrade the play “Not Falling” to participate in the National Drama Festival praising the image of the people’s police officer. Hopefully, with the spirit of enthusiasm and fulfilling our glorious mission, we will find a way to attract audiences.