World classic play first on cai luong stage
Medea - an ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides and first produced in 431 BC has been on the cai luong (reformed opera) stage for the first time, conquering Vietnamese audiences.
The Medea was based upon the myth of Jason and Medea. The plot centers on the actions of Medea, a former princess of the kingdom of Colchis, and the wife of Jason; she finds her position in the Greek world threatened as Jason leaves her for a Greek princess of Corinth. Medea takes vengeance on Jason by murdering his new wife as well as her own two sons, after which she escapes to Athens to start a new life.
Euripides' play has been explored and interpreted by playwrights across the centuries and the world in a variety of ways, offering political, psychoanalytical, and feminist, among many other original readings of Medea, Jason, and the core themes of the play.
In Vietnam, the work was translated into Vietnamese by translator Hoang Huu Dan and has also been staged many times. The Medea play was adapted by People's Artist Trieu Trung Kien from a poetic script written by Excellent Artist Le Chuc.
Chuc and his team have surprised the public by bringing a version that fully guarantees the value of the original tragic work and makes the play new, luxurious, and imbued with human values.
Sharing the reason for choosing the Medea script to be staged as a cai luong play, People's Artist Trieu Trung Kien, Director of the Vietnam Cai Luong Theater, said that forms of stage are facing a shortage of good scripts, so choosing to stage the Medea is a way to enrich the theater's performance.
Right after the debut on April 11, the Theater offered a show for athletes participating in the 12th ASEAN Para Games in Cambodia and another show to audiences from the National Academy of Public Administration.
The Theater is also planning to cooperate with businesses to bring the play to students of universities and colleges.
The production team expects that when staging a Western classic masterpiece in the style of reformed opera, with a combination of traditional Vietnamese theater and world stage will attract more young audiences, bringing cai luong opera closer to the public, especially young people.