VietNamNet Bridge
– Meritorious Artist Kim Tu Long has announced he will organize a live show at HCM City’s
Hoa Binh Theatre on February 25-26 to mark the 30^th year of his
career.

Meritorious artists Kim Tu Long and Thoai My

The senior cai luong singer said that after ten years he is
now able to hold a live show, entitled “My Heaven”, to celebrate his 30^th year
as a cai luong singer.

The show will feature famous cai luong artists in Vietnam –
Meritorious Artist Thoai My, Tu Suong, Trinh Trinh, Que Tran, Hong Tham, famous
comedians Hoai Linh and Minh Beo, and overseas Vietnamese singer Phi Nhung.

Kim Tu Long said he has invested over VND1 billion ($50,000)
in the show, with nine extracts from well-known cai luong dramas that helped
him achieve fame – including Day Song Bach Dang Giang (Waves in the Bach Dang
River), and Nang Tien Mau Don (Peony Fairy).

Director Vu Minh said that the show will consists of nine
pieces from different dramas but will be closely combined with each other.

Kim Tu Long, 45, developed an interest in cai luong at 14.
He learned to sing vong co (nostalgic tunes), a traditional southern art form,
and perform cai luong from Vuong Quang and the late People’s Artist Phung Ha.

In 1985, he was a member of the Tran Huu Trang Troupe 3, one
of the region’s leading cai luong performance groups. His strong voice and
dance skills quickly impressed his audiences.

In 1992, he won the prestigious Tran Huu Trang Award given
to promising cai luong artists.

He also won the Nguoi Lao Dong (The Laborer) newspaper’s Mai
Vang (Golden Ochna) Award for Favorite Cai Luong Actor in 2002, 2003, and 2009.

Cai luong (reformed theater) is a form of modern folk opera
in Vietnam.
It blends southern Vietnamese folk songs, classical music, hát tuồng (a classical
theatre form based on Chinese opera), and modern spoken drama. It originated in
Southern Vietnam in the early 20th century,
and blossomed in the 1930s as a theatre of the middle class during the
country’s French colonial period. Cai luong is now promoted as a national
theatrical form.

LH