Vietnamese Classical Opera Will Play at US Festival
A traditional Vietnamese opera troupe from the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long will represent Vietnam at the 2007 Smithsonian Folk Life Festival in the US this June. 
Three artists and two musicians from the Dong Thinh Troupe, a group of artists that has been performing Tuong (Vietnamese Classical Opera) for over 100 years, will perform a 45-minute excerpt from the traditional play Tiet Giao Doat Ngoc (Tiet Giao wins the pearl).
Based on an old traditional tale, the play is about dignity, patriotism and loyalty, said Vu Linh Tam from the Vinh Long Culture and Arts Association.
Tam said that after Dong Thinh was chosen by the Ministry of Culture and Information to perform at the festival, the Smithsonian Institute sent a delegation to Vinh Long to attend the rehearsals.
The Smithsonian Folk Life festival is an annual event in Washington D.C. that introduces visitors to various types of traditional arts from around the world. This year, the event focuses on countries in the Mekong River Basin.
This year’s festival, themed “Mekong River: Connecting Cultures”, will feature traditional arts as diverse as Vietnamese opera, Thai shadow puppetry, Cambodian classical dance and the Chinese gourd flute.
The event aims to provide insight into the complex connections among ethnic groups, languages, and traditions of peoples living along the mighty river.
Thanh Nien News
