Concerns about the folk opera of Nghe Tinh

Proud milestones

Starting with early plays like "Mr. Tư's Plow," "The New Daughter-in-Law," "The Irrigation Canal," "The Angry Coffee," "It's Not Me," and "When the Team Is Away" in the 1960s, the musical theater stage has undergone transformations to produce plays with a strong and widespread impact on the traditional stage of the country. The public has known plays such as: "The King Who Turned into a Tiger" (1987), "Two Thousand Injustices" (1988), "The Price Life Must Pay" (1993), "Great Figures Raised from Folk Songs" (1997); "Everlasting Faith" (1999); "The Words of the People, the Words of the Nation" (2007)... In these plays, the melodies...Ví and Giặm folk songsIt has been applied and creatively developed in a skillful way, becoming the soul of the performances.

To achieve that success, we must remember the difficult and arduous years spent struggling with each scene, each role, each melody, and each musical piece by the collective of actors of the Nghe An Folk Song Theatre (now the Provincial Traditional Arts Center). It is also the immeasurable contribution of the authors, directors, musicians, and artists of the theatre and their long-time collaborators. Notable names include musicians, directors, and adaptation authors 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 and nearly 200 adapted folk melodies (folk song developments) of various characteristics and genres, including plays that have left a strong mark.

I still remember the early 1990s, when forms of entertainment and media were limited and rudimentary, folk opera was warmly welcomed by the public. Each performance was a spiritual feast for the audience. There were nights when the Ben Thuy theater was overcrowded, with spectators jostling inside and outside, and those without tickets standing outside just to listen to the music was enough. That was also the golden age of folk opera in Nghe An province, when artists like People's Artist Hong Luu, People's Artist An Ninh, Meritorious Artist Hong Duong, Meritorious Artist Minh Thanh, Meritorious Artist Duc Lam, and Meritorious Artist Thuy Kien were in their twenties, at the peak of their talents. Those were also the times when Nghe Tinh folk opera was a resounding success, winning countless gold and silver medals.

Later, although theatrical performances declined due to the market economy and the emergence of new and attractive forms of entertainment for young people, many plays were still praised by theater circles and achieved high accolades, such as:""One tree alone cannot make a forest" - Gold Medal winner in 2010, play""Hidden Corners of Life" was awarded a special prize (both plays participated in the National Traditional Opera and Folk Song Festival); the play""The Executioner" - Gold Medal at the National Professional Theatre Festival on the image of the People's Police officer (2010); the play "The Race in the Darkness" - Gold Medal in 2013, the play "Teacher and Student"ButHCV 2016, play"The play "The Case of the Buddha's Nest" won a gold medal at the National Professional Theatre Festival for its portrayal of the People's Police officer, and the play "The Crane in the Storm" won a gold medal in 2022. It can be said that over the past 50 years (from 1972 to 2024), Nghe Tinh folk opera has achieved remarkable successes. The opera has fulfilled its mission of theatricalizing Nghe Tinh folk songs, and was recognized as "National Folk Opera" by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 1985.

Since the Nghe Tinh folk opera was recognized as "National Folk Opera," the Nghe An Traditional Arts Center has been tasked with serving the political agenda and the people of the province annually. Each year, the Center continues to experiment with theatrical adaptations of folk songs, building on past experiences while exploring and learning new approaches to better connect with the tastes of the public in the digital age.

Concerns about how to approach consumer tastes.

However, after the golden age of the 1980s and 1990s, Nghe Tinh folk opera was rarely toured, no longer featuring crowded outdoor performances or scenes of people jostling to buy tickets. Performances also decreased; the Provincial Traditional Arts Center only produces one or two plays per year to serve major events or to participate in professional theater festivals.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, when the whole country had to implement social distancing, the Provincial Traditional Arts Center produced many short plays and posted them on digital platforms and the Center's fan pages... However, the level 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 truly famous among theater enthusiasts, but in recent years we haven't been able to tour them because entertainment tastes have changed; very few audiences are willing to pay for tickets to watch plays at the theater." People's Artist Hong Luu also said that the Center had once harbored many plans to revive famous Nghe Tinh folk opera plays to serve the people, but it was difficult to implement due to funding issues and other factors, including the current entertainment tastes of the public.

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We are striving to achieve our goal of staging one Nghệ Tĩnh folk opera at the Folk Opera Theatre each month. However, we have only managed to perform "The Words of the People, the Words of the Nation" and "The Bright Light." Despite the actors' enthusiasm and the significant time and effort invested, we haven't yet reached our goal of selling tickets and attracting a large audience.

Musician Quoc Chung - Director of the Provincial Traditional Arts Center

Composer Quoc Chung also added that the Center will soon upgrade the play "Never Give Up" to participate in the National Drama Festival, which celebrates the image of the people's police officer. Hopefully, with our enthusiastic spirit and commitment to fulfilling our glorious mission, we will find a way to attract audiences.