"Cheo" folk songs to ring out in Hanoi
A day of “Cheo” singing, or Vietnamese opera, will be held on August 26 at Hao Nam Temple in Hanoi’s Dong Da district.
Photo: Vietnamese Institute for Musicology
The day is part of the “Back to the Origin - Experience the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Vietnam” program co-organized by the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports and the Cheo 48h Project.
Young people who love traditional arts can try to learn and sing Cheo by acting as characters in typical stories in famous Cheo performances, under instruction from Cheo artists.
The event also targets children who may be potential artists, who can learn about one of the country’s typical traditional arts. There are different levels for different ages to join in.
Started in 2015, the “Back to the Origin - Experience the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Vietnam” program aims to preserve and promote the country’s core values by giving the younger generation and art lovers real experiences in traditional arts, crafts and festivals. It is also to introduce Vietnam’s intangible cultural heritage to both local people and tourists, promoting a new tourism product in experiencing traditional culture.
In 2018, it focuses on traditional art forms, including Cheo, Ca Tru folk singing, Xam singing, and Hanoi’s Trieu Khuc village’s dance with cylindrical drums.
Originating in the 12th century in the northern delta region, Cheo is a traditional art form known as Vietnamese opera. It was a popular form of theater in Vietnam and has its roots in traditional village festivals, especially in provinces in the Red River Delta.
Cheo features a combination of dance and song in the form of musical theater. Actors dress in colorful costumes and use both dance and song to tell stories based on legends, poetry, history, and even daily life. An orchestra sits under the stage and accompanies the play with traditional instruments.
Cheo used to be performed on small stages in the yards of communal houses. Performing it on an original type of stage, which is outdoors and not in a theater, helps bridge the distance between the actors and the audience.
There are many famous Cheo plays that have made a deep impression on generations of audiences, like “Quan Am Thi Kinh”, “Luu Binh - Duong Le”, “Truong Vien”, and “Kim Nham”. Scripts were modernized in the 20th to include content on contemporary life.
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