"Too wonderful", "Too excellent" are the audience's unexpected exclamations when they came to see the show "The fate of Kieu" performed by the artists of the Vietnam National Puppetry Theater at Opera House.
In the framework of stimulating the Theater to light up after the Covid-19 epidemic of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, on the evening of June 18, the Vietnam National Puppetry Theater performed the play "The fate of Kieu" at the Hanoi Opera House. Surprisingly, all the seats in the auditorium of the Opera House were full. Especially, after the show, plenty of the audience commented :"Too brilliant”, “Excellent”...
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thien - Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism came to see the play "The fate of Kieu" which was performed on the evening of June 18 at the Hanoi Opera House. Photo: Thanh Ha.
The play "The fate of Kieu" based on the classic work "Story of Kieu" by the great poet Nguyen Du, was transformed into a new breakthrough puppet stage, creative and experimental under the direction People's Artist Nguyen Tien Dung.
The performance reappeared, portraying each main character differently, artized in puppet language, making the characters in poetry closer and sharper on stage. All details and scenes in the show are handled by pieces, attractive puppet shows, space, abstract light, fanciful combined with traditional music mixed with contemporary, making the audience excited. and go from surprise to surprise.
If in other genres, Kieu is built according to the literary order of the great poet Nguyen Du, in this "The fate of Kieu", Kieu does not make the chronological order of "Story of Kieu", but only choose some of the most dramatic changes of Kieu's life, starting from the transformation of the man who sold the slander to Vuong Ong's family, causing Kieu to sell herself, twice in a brothel, twice as a servant during the 15 year. The drama ended when Kieu stepped into the Tien Duong River. More especially, with traditional puppetry, it will be difficult to attract and convey all the content of the story, it is difficult for the actor to fully portray the unjust and painful mood of Kieu, as well as of the many other characters. In addition, the troubled experience - who made it easier for viewers to understand, easier to engage with Kieu's fate. In particular, with the creation of the puppet show, dozens of barn-owls are cleverly shaped and controlled by the actor, adding a line in the play that is quite humorous and witty that many times the audience turns on laughed excitedly.
Kieu in "The fate of Kieu"
After watching the show, young viewer Nguyen Thi Thuy - living in Thanh Xuan district said: "I have read the story of Kieu, but when I watch the show" The fate of Kieu ", I really like it, because in the show, Kieu's character is portrayed more vividly, her fate is also easier to understand. It was so wonderful to see this show.
And Mrs. Nguyen Thi Huy Hoang - living in Nghi Tam, Tay Ho district, said: "The show is so good. I have just read Kieu through literary works and this is the first time I see Kieu through puppetry art forms. I was surprised by the performance as well as the actors. I don't think that the puppeteers can perform too well their roles, especially the role of Kiều ”.
Mr. Jeff Von der Schmidt, French conductor.
Mr. Jeff Von der Schmidt - the French conductor said: "Before that I did not learn and did not know about the story of the play, but when I watched the performers, I understood the story of the play. I really like the actors who dance, love the music, the rutin, the pure white silk on the stage.
Actress Thu Que shared, this is the second time she went to see the show, before that at the Experimental Stage Festival she was also able to see this show, and after the play ended, the whole room and the judges were quiet for a while because the performance was so excellent. "Today, I knew that the Vietnam National Puppetry Theater was going to perform" The fate of a Kieu ", I invited more of my friends to see it. At first, they did not want to join because they thought puppet show is for kids, but I persuaded and told that this puppet show is very different. As the result, after the show, my friends complemented that it was very good and excellent show.
For me, my colleagues have acted too well, better than the theater actors. They are actors, but the puppeteers, in addition to physical and voice acting, they have had to use physical expressions many times to describe the mood and personality of the character. For theater actors, when going on stage to perform, the face will be the focus, the place for expression and character expression. But for the puppeteers, the face was obscured with the puppet's face, which deactivated them. But with their talent and acting, they still convey character, personality, mood through body, voice. I think it is difficult but also the talent of the puppeteers, "said actress Thu Que.
The show "The fate of Kieu" will continue to be performed on Monday night at 8:00 p.m. on June 19, 2020 at the Hanoi Opera House.
Thanh Ha - danviet.vn
