Tirelessly "carrying the prison and the whole country"
Indeed, that is not an incorrect statement when referring to Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tham in Hoa Tham village, Trung Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district. Because for nearly 20 years as the Head of the Trung Thanh Commune Tuong Club and more than 30 years as the Head of the Women's Association of Hamlet 7, in addition to taking care of her family, Mrs. Tham spent most of her remaining time on village and commune affairs.
Over the years, she has been known for her skillful hands when researching and learning to sew costumes and make necessary props for Tuong performances. Holding a half-finished hat, Ms. Tham said that the costume of Tuong is characterized by a preference for colorful, sparkling, eye-catching fabrics.
These types of fabrics are very difficult to find in the countryside markets, so sometimes she has to go to Vinh market to buy them. After buying the fabric, she goes online and asks members of other opera troupes to better understand the style and how to sew it to suit the nature of each role.
She said that the costumes of each character in the art of Tuong have their own style and mark. The costumes are based on the rules of the characters, such as the role of king, queen, princess, mandarin or commoner.
For each role, just by looking at the costume, the audience can guess the social status, age, and identity of the character performing on stage. Each costume for a Tuong actor requires many accompanying details such as hats, beards, mustaches, shoes, slippers... and props for the character to use.
While listening to her, we looked at the neatly arranged bags that she carefully stored for the members of the Tuong club. Among them, we were impressed by the system of hats that she made herself. Diverse in color and style: simple hats with dark, deep tones; hats decorated with sparkling sequins and countless colorful beads; hats decorated with peacock feathers creating an impressive arc on the top of the head...
Listening to Mrs. Tham’s analysis, we could understand the profound meanings of those colors and designs. She said that the reason hats make up a large number of the costume treasure of Tuong is because almost every character uses them. From kings, mandarins, queens, young ladies to Confucian scholars, monks, old farmers, young women, children… all have their own hat style.
Accordingly, the King wears a nine-dragon crown with nine dragons. The Queen wears a nine-phoenix crown with nine phoenixes. The General wears a golden crown. In the costume system, the hat is one of the most time-consuming details for the maker, and is also the strength of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tham. Therefore, the members of the Tuong club love the hats she makes.
What is special is that she researched the methods herself, bought the fabrics and accessories herself to serve everyone for free. She even lent them to other Tuong troupes in the district to use without any calculation or asking for payment.
Recently, Ke Gam Tuong Club also had to borrow 7 fins, 5 sets of clothes and 2 hats from Ms. Nguyen Thi Tham to perform. The reason for borrowing from her is because the costumes she makes are very sophisticated, skillful and suitable for the characteristics of each character. However, when it came time to pay for the work, she did not take it. For Ms. Tham, for nearly 20 years, almost all the costumes she made have been completely free for everyone to use.
Many people are surprised, but for Ms. Tham, it is a very normal thing. According to her: “I started out as a farmer, loved and attached to traditional opera, so I tried to find out how to have suitable props and costumes for club members to use. For many years, I have not expected to be paid for making products. The only thing I want is for everyone to have enough costumes to perform, that is enough to make me happy…”.
The person who "fuels" the passion for traditional opera art
Talking about her connection with classical opera, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tham said that since her childhood, when Yen Thanh was still bustling with the activities of the opera troupes, she had been passionate about this art form. At that time, a cousin of hers in the Nam Thanh commune opera troupe discovered her talent and wholeheartedly guided her. After that, he asked for permission from her parents to help her participate in a few roles in the commune opera troupe.
In the early days, she was assigned to play the role of a walker or a child or grandchild. By the age of 15, she began to make an impression on the audience in difficult roles such as Chau Long - Luu Binh's wife in the play "Luu Binh, Duong Le", or Kieu Nguyet Nga in the play Luc Van Tien.
At the age of 17, she got married and moved to Trung Thanh commune. Knowing that she had played many roles before, Mr. Cao Dinh Hung, the captain of the Trung Thanh commune's traditional opera troupe, came to invite Ms. Tham to join the troupe. When she was at her peak, Ms. Tham was assigned difficult roles such as Thi Sach in the play "Trung Trac, Trung Nhi", and Trong Thuy in the play "Trong Thuy - My Chau". In particular, the role of Lao Ta in the play "Hung Son Fire" was considered a "key" role that made many people remember this role when mentioning traditional opera.
After that, for a while, classical opera gradually faded away in Trung Thanh land in particular, and Yen Thanh district in general. Until 2004, when Yen Thanh district had many policies to restore and promote the value of classical opera, classical opera clubs began to be re-established and operate vigorously again. Thanks to that, the Trung Thanh Commune Classical Opera Club was established with 12 members. Ms. Nguyen Thi Tham was trusted by everyone and elected as the club's chairwoman.
Since that moment, she has devoted all her heart to the club and maximized her ability during her performances. Thanks to that, she has achieved many prestigious awards such as: Outstanding Actress Award at the Yen Thanh District Tuong Club Festival in 2008; The oldest actress singing the best Tuong in 2013; Outstanding Actress of the Yen Thanh District Tuong Club Festival at the Duc Hoang Temple Festival in 2011...
In 2015, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tham brought the club members to participate in the Festival of “Theatrical Works of Author Tong Phuoc Pho” in Da Nang City. That year, the club left many deep impressions on the audience and was commended and rewarded by the People’s Committee of Da Nang City.
These days, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tham's house is once again open to welcome members of the Trung Thanh Tuong Club to practice in preparation for the Duc Hoang Temple Festival, Gam Pagoda Festival... For them - the pure farmers, being able to sing, dance, and transform into each role is boundless happiness. And in each of those roles, people remember the image of a woman who meticulously cares for every needle and thread to create the most beautiful costumes for each actor and actress to flourish...
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