cailuongvietnam.com - English Edition

From Thương Nhớ Mười Hai to Miếng Ngon Hà Nội, Vũ Bằng’s way of lacing Hanoian features with melancholic reminiscence always brings me straight back to the embrace of my hometown, even more so after I moved to Saigon at age 19. Since then, my writing and social media posts about Hanoi have often been accompanied by quotes “stolen” from his books: “My spring — the spring of northern Vietnam, Hanoi's spring — is a season of gentle misty rain, cool tender winds, the sound of swallows calling all jade-dark night, distant chèo drum beats from distant hamlets with maidens lovely as poems singing timeless love songs.” This was how Vũ Bằng’s oeuvre made its way to my heart.

The Ba Chua Xu (Holy Mother of the Realm) Festival on Mount Sam in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang was officially recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Vietnamese-American singer Sangeeta Kaur, whose real name is Mai Xuan Loan, and director Bao Nguyen have been nominated for Grammy Awards this year.

The first HCMC Theater Festival 2024 will take place on November 12-29 with the participation of State-owned and private theaters throughout the city.

The book “Ham Nghi – Exiled Emperor, Artist in Algeria” was launched on November 5 in Hue imperial city, the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, shedding light on the exiled Vietnamese emperor’s artistic legacy.

Like many traditional forms of theatrical arts in Vietnam, cải lương faces dwindling viewership in today’s society, a problem that theater owners are trying to rectify by offering free shows.

Vietnamese food is distinct and unforgettable, according to UK magazine Rough Guides.

Ca tru singer Pham Thi Hue just finished a three-month trip to introduce Ca tru to students in the city of Cleveland (Ohio, USA). During her free time, she joined a world-music band. She is now in Taiwan to teach traditional music of Vietnam.

My Life wouldn't have been a good life if it wasn't for the Vong Co melody" Minh Canh Said with all sincerity

Trieu Trung Kien was born and grew up in an artistic traditional family. His mother is a cai luong artist of the Vietnam National Cai luong Theatre. His father is a director. When he was a child, he desired to become an artist. He started to perform on stage at the age of 7.

At "Thien Nhai Tu" temple, a young sadi with the name Tran Tu Tam (Nghe Si Minh Canh) led a peaceful, carefree life of a monk. One cloudy day, a girl called Nhuoc Thuy (Nghe Si Phuong Lien?) came out of nowhere and gave him a letter which told of a horrendous murder that took place 20 years ago that involved the deaths of Tran Tu Tam's parents. He learned that his folks were brutally killed 20 years ago by a traitor in their group and that Tran Tu Tam was lucky enough to escape with the help of a kind man named Du Phong (Nghe Si Thanh Sang) who ran off with him and left him in the temple to be raise by the head monk. The letter also stated that now was the time for Tran Tu Tam to resume a layperson life and seek revenge for his parents.

Artist Kieu Phuong Loan said she was surprised to see the Cai Luong play that was filmed at HTV in 1988, when she was just 34 years old.

The real name of the well–known actor Viet Hung was Nguyen Huu Hung. He was born in 1923 in Nha Trang, a coastal city in central Vietnam. Because of hardship, he, along with his mother and his elder sister, moved to Da Lat, a highland city. They later settled in Saigon.

The following three singers, each of whom is Vietnamese traditional music performer, one after another, brightened up and beautified the already popular theatrical arts of Cai Luong (Southern traditional folk plays). Three different characters, three singing voices, three completely different performing styles, yet they have two things in common – each became famous at a young age, and each possessed a unique talent that led them to their most glorious standings within the entertainment industry. Up until now none of them have been awarded any titles in singing Vong Co (the singing component of Cai Luong), but no one can deny that their voices helped make Vong Co more popular than ever.

Artists exist along with the plays. It is certain that they live on forever with their creativity in every film, in each role and song … But one day, that person has gone. That figure has stopped making a shadow. Though thousands of works leave his good name, the loss and disappointment was so painful.

Descendants of the legendary cai luong (reformed opera) Artist Thanh Nga, plan to revive two plays in which their late relative, the "Queen of cai luong", often performed the leading role.

It's 2009 and I'm running a workshop for a large group of unemployed jobseekers in Sydney, Australia.

Many members of the www.cailuongvietnam.com Website are loyal fans of the famous singer Minh Canh. While most of them would agree that the song “The Mournful Sound of Music” (Sau Vuong Y Nhac), written by Vien Chau, the King of Vong Co songs, is one of the songs that greatly contributed to the success of that legendary singer, probably only a few of Minh Canh’s fans know that this song was written based on a real and tragic life of a Cai Luong troupe’s owner, Mr. Hoang Van Quynh.

The traditional music was always a poor relation compared to auters occidentalized musics. Before April 1975, with the National Academy of the music with Saigon, the classes of traditional instruments and arts traditional did not attract large world. The professors of traditional music had the complex of inferiority opposite the professors of Western music.

Traditional theaters play an important role in Vietnamese culture. Despite the rapid development of contemporary art genres and the entertainment industry in Vietnam, traditional theaters continue to inspire both Vietnamese and foreign audience.