Tuong art has been in the cultural life of Thanh Hoa people since very early times. Just counting the period before the August Revolution in 1945, Thanh Hoa had nearly 30 Tuong troupes.
Artists from Thanh Hoa Traditional Arts Theater perform an excerpt from the play “The Old Man Carries His Wife to the Festival” at Lam Son Square stage, Phan Chu Trinh walking street, Thanh Hoa city.
People attached to the art of Tuong
Realizing that Tuong art is an indispensable product in the cultural life of the people, in May 1962, under the direction of the Standing Committee of Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee and the Propaganda Committee of Zone 5 Party Committee, with the sponsorship of the Fatherland Front of Thanh Hoa province and the Liberation Front of Quang Nam - Da Nang province, Thanh Hoa Tuong Art Troupe was born with the name Thanh - Quang Tuong Art Troupe. During the war years, under the rain of bombs and bullets, the people of Thanh still heard the sound of Tuong drums resounding behind the bamboo fences of the village, like urging young men to take up arms to fight the enemy to save the country and their homes. The plays "Chi Ngo", "Tran Binh Trong", "De Tham"... performed by artists Thien Tap, Ngoc Minh, Mai Tuyet, Mai Lan, Duc Binh, Vu Quang... further ignited the flame of patriotism burning in the minds of every citizen.
The resistance war against the US to save the country was completely victorious, the two regions of the South and the North were unified, and the Thanh - Quang Tuong Art Troupe also completed its political mission. Since 1976, the Thanh - Quang Tuong Art Troupe has been named the Thanh Hoa Tuong Art Troupe. In 2017, the Thanh Hoa Traditional Arts Theater was established on the basis of merging and reorganizing 3 art troupes: Tuong, Cheo, Cai Luong and adding a folk song and dance troupe. Facing the difficulties and challenges of the market mechanism and the explosion of entertainment information technology, the Thanh Hoa Traditional Arts Theater has always fulfilled its professional and political tasks such as researching, collecting, preserving, restoring and constructing, organizing performances of Cheo, Tuong, Cai Luong, and Thanh Hoa folk songs and dances. At the same time, it participates in serving political tasks to celebrate the holidays and anniversaries of the province and the country.
Tuong is a classical, scholarly art form and the criteria for evaluating the talent of a Tuong artist is the convergence of "sound, color, maturity, essence, energy, and spirit". As commented by Meritorious Artist To Hao (Vu Thi Hao), Deputy Director of Thanh Hoa Traditional Arts Theater: Tuong is a comprehensive combination of singing, dancing, acting, and musical accompaniment elements that create strong emotions for the audience. In Tuong art, convention and stylization are considered one of the core characteristics, creating the unique beauty of this traditional theater form. Through the artist's performance, the audience not only recognizes changes in space and time, but also sees the inner conflicts of the character. From these factors, it can be seen that training a young artist in a traditional art form is a long-term process, the artist needs to love the profession, strive to learn and cultivate. Currently, the art of Tuong is facing great difficulties and challenges in the training of artists and actors of Tuong. The generation of artists and actors at the theater is getting older, the next generation of young artists is getting smaller and smaller, so Thanh Hoa province should soon establish a "Talent Fund" for those in the art field, supporting newly graduated cases to be selected and work in art troupes. To make Tuong closer to the people, the Traditional Art Theater also offers solutions such as building the program "Bringing the stage to schools", building performance excerpts at major political events of the province associated with typical festivals or weekly performances at Phan Chu Trinh walking street (Thanh Hoa city)...
The villages resound with ancient operas
Along with the innovation and development of the Tuong art troupe (Thanh Hoa Traditional Arts Theater), in the villages of Thanh Hoa, the Tuong tune still resonates as evidence of the perseverance and love for the traditional folk art form of the people. In Thanh Hoa, the countryside still resonates with Tuong tunes such as Kim Son village, Hoang Kim commune (Hoang Hoa) with the Tuong singing club and Kim Son festival drum. There are dedicated people such as Ms. Nguyen Thi Mien, Mr. Nguyen Van Long... Currently, the club has developed with more than 30 members. Although the artists and actors have not been trained, with their love and passion, they have been preserving the art of Tuong in the countryside. Or in Beo village, Vinh Long commune (Vinh Loc), the Beo village Tuong Club is still preserved and developed with the dedication of many people, including the great contribution of artist Tran Thi Doi. Established in 2005 until now, the Club is a common home for those who love Tuong in Beo village.
In Thanh My commune (Thach Thanh), during the Muong Don festival, the Tuong melodies resonate, attracting viewers. According to Mr. Nguyen Van Minh, Vice Chairman of Thanh My commune People's Committee, the reason why Tuong melodies are resounded and performed during the Muong Don festival held on January 18 every year is because, according to the elders in the commune, in the early 20th century, there was a theater troupe led by Mr. Hai Hoat from Phat Diem, Kim Son district (Ninh Binh) coming to this land. Every day, the troupe went from village to village to perform and only sang Tuong. This is the land of the descendants of martial arts officer Vu Duy Duong, who has a tradition of being passionate about martial arts. Moreover, seeing that the content of Tuong stories often depicts the portraits of heroes and heroes, the lyrics are cheerful and heroic, the movements are majestic and majestic, so the villagers are passionate about singing all night and all day. Therefore, many people know many ancient Tuong stories and teach them to their descendants.
Currently, Muong Don people still preserve the Tuong melodies taught through the activities of the Folk Culture Club. The plays and excerpts are recorded by the elders in books and videos. In particular, the people of the old Van Doi villages (now Phong Phu, Van Dinh, Van Tien villages) regularly perform. Typical in the Folk Culture Club are Mrs. Nguyen Thi Ky, Bui Thi Phieu, Bui Thi Uon, Truong Thi Ty, Truong Thi Nhi... who understand and perform Tuong singing. In addition, some young people in villages such as Tay Huong, Le Cam 2... are also learning and practicing to sing and perform.
With the impact of the market mechanism and the strong development of new art forms, the number of people who truly love the art of Tuong is decreasing. To keep the sound of Tuong drums echoing in the countryside or on professional stages, the most important thing is to build a team of young actors and artists.
Article and photos: Ngoc Huan
Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/giu-lua-tuong-co-tren-que-huong-xu-thanh-223588.htm
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