In Vietnamese culture, music holds an important role and is often regarded as one of our most valuable cultural treasures. As a part of that, cai luong, a form of Vietnamese folk opera, is the most popular form of traditional music in Southern Vietnam.
When compared to some other traditional Vietnamese music styles and art forms, Cai luong is still relatively young. At the end of the 19th century, Vietnamese music was still heavily influenced by the Chinese. The most common form of entertainment at the time was “Hat tuong” (Vietnamese opera), a variation of the Chinese opera with Vietnamese language which originated from North Vietnam.
However, the people in South Vietnam grew tired of listening to the same old music that does not have the spirit and style of Vietnamese in it. Thus, they started to form bands of musicians playing a new style of music which began to distinguish itself from other traditional music styles from the North.
However, the people in South Vietnam grew tired of listening to the same old music that does not have the spirit and style of Vietnamese in it. Thus, they started to form bands of musicians playing a new style of music which began to distinguish itself from other traditional music styles from the North.
The golden age of Cai luong was in the 60s. At the time,Cai luong was even more popular than the new music style called “Tan nhac” (Vietnamese modern music). From then, it stayed at the top in the Southern Vietnam entertainment industry and only started to fade away at the end of the 20thcentury.Nowadays, Cai luong still holds a special place in the heart of Vietnamese people. Many areas in South Vietnam and even North Vietnam still hold annual competition in search of new talents to help bring back the spirit of the once dominant art form.
Many retired Cai luong artists are still living in the home for retired artist that is funded by various organizations and people as a way to show appreciation for their contributions to the art.
Read more: vlstudies.com