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The coupe performs a play. Photo N.T |
The husband, a son who follows in his father’s footsteps, is an artist; the wife was only a farmer. They are now in charge of a Tuong (Vietnamese classical drama) troupe in Phuoc An Commune, Tuy Phuoc District.
* Barefoot artist
Over 30 years ago, Nguyen Hoang Minh was very happy when being admitted into Nghia Binh Arts and Culture Secondary School. He practiced singing Vietnamese opera during 4 years at school.
At that time, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Huong went to learn singing at Bay Thanh’s house, one of his relatives.
“I couldn’t stay at home in the evening,” Huong recalled. “Hearing the sound of drums, I wanted to go out. All villagers filled the yard of Bay Thanh’s house each night.”
They then knew each other thanks to Vietnamese opera. They loved to spend their lives together, both on the stage and in life. At first, Minh was an artist of Dao Tan Tuong theatre; Huong was of Hoang Mai Tuong troupe in Phuoc An.
He then moved to his wife’s troupe. “I think that an artist must always keep his love for the career. He also has to learn and experience new things to improve himself,” Minh said.
Perhaps, that period was the most memorable time in their career. A lot of audience came to watch their performances every night. The golden days passed, causing many difficulties for the troupe which no longer existed later.
The couple moved to work in other troupes and went to perform everywhere to earn their living. They gradually dreamed of restoring Vietnamese opera in their hometown.
* Establishment of Tuong troupe
Seeing that the opera might run the risk of disappearing at its cradle, they determined to set up a troupe. They finally established Phuoc An tuong troupe with the participation of other artists.
“Initially, our troupe faced many difficulties. To maintain its operation, we had to ignore the profit many times,” Minh said. “Once, I used my fee to pay for other artists.”
So far, the troupe has performed 30 plays of all types. 24 artists in the troupe have gone to perform in all localities in Binh Dinh and other provinces of Quang Ngai, Phu Yen, and Khanh Hoa. Both still look happy even though they have to go out a lot during 8 months a year.
“The troupe had 40 shows this year. I don’t know how many shows we will have in the next year,” he said. “I feel sad when seeing that the young generation show no enthusiasm for Vietnamese classical drama. On the summer holiday, we often take our children with us to help them feel the art of Vietnamese drama. Under no circumstances must the unique art be preserved. I’m also dreaming of forming a child troupe, but this hasn’t been done yet due to many reasons, mainly the lack of the expenditure.”
Such artists have greatly contributed to maintain Tuong troupes. Listening his story, I hoped that their troupe will have more shows so that Vietnamese drama will be able to come alive on the land of Tuong.
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