Hát tuồng

Hát tuồng
Name	Hát tuồng
Caption	Traditional performers in northern Vietnam
Country	Vietnam
Years active	17th century–present
Genre	Classical Vietnamese theatre

Hát tuồng is a form of classical Vietnamese theatre known for stylized acting, elaborate costumes, and historical narratives. Originating in the early modern period, it developed patronage from royal courts and regional elites and influenced modern Vietnamese stage arts. The form remains linked to ceremonial performances, national festivals, and cultural preservation initiatives.

Origins and History

Hát tuồng traces origins through interactions among Southeast Asian courts and maritime connections involving Đàng Trong, Đàng Ngoài, Nguyễn lords, Trịnh lords, Lê dynasty, Mạc dynasty, and diplomatic exchanges with China, Japan, Kingdom of Ayutthaya, Rattanakosin Kingdom, Qing dynasty, and Ming dynasty. Early patrons included Gia Long, Tây Sơn, Nguyễn Ánh, Trịnh Sâm, and mandarins traveling between Hanoi, Huế, and Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). Influences stemmed from Kunqu, Beijing opera, Noh theatre, Wayang, Cambodian ballet, and court rituals of Angkor, filtered through merchants from Quanzhou, Ningbo, Nagoya, and Malacca. Colonial encounters with French Indochina, administrators in Hanoi (French colonial capital), and cultural agents such as Pierre Poivre and Auguste Pavie affected patronage and documentation. Revolutionary periods involving Nguyễn Ánh’s consolidation, the First Indochina War, and policies of Vietnamese Communist Party influenced transmission, and post-1975 cultural policy fostered institutionalization via Vietnam National Academy of Music, Vietnam Institute of Musicology, Ministry of Culture and Information, and regional houses like Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh Municipal Theater. Scholars from Trương Vĩnh Ký, Nguyễn Du, Phan Bội Châu, Nguyễn Ánh, Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Đào Duy Anh, Huỳnh Thúc Kháng, and institutions such as École française d'Extrême-Orient contributed to historical records.

Performance Elements

Performances combine stylized action, codified gestures, and spoken verse drawn from literary sources like The Tale of Kiều, Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư, Lĩnh Nam chích quái, Sự tích Trầu Cau, and chronicles used by playwrights such as Đào Duy Từ, Nguyễn Huy Tưởng, Nguyễn Đình Thi, and Trần Hữu Trang. Directors and masters reference staging practices from Imperial City of Huế, festival contexts like Tết Nguyên Đán, Mid-Autumn Festival, and theatrical spaces such as Hát Bội stages and community venues in Hải Phòng, Nam Định, Thanh Hóa, Bắc Ninh, and Thừa Thiên–Huế. Dance sequences evoke traditions from Múa rối nước and ritual choreography linked to Đền, Chùa, and royal ceremonies performed for figures like Emperor Tự Đức and Emperor Khải Định. Visual codes map to roles comparable to techniques in Kabuki, Korean pansori, and Thai lakhon, while dramaturgy sometimes adapts texts by Ngô Thì Nhậm and Lê Quý Đôn.

Repertoire and Themes

Repertoire centers on historical episodes, legendary narratives, moral exemplars, and didactic allegories featuring characters drawn from sources such as Sơn Tinh–Thủy Tinh, Trần Hưng Đạo, Lê Lợi, Nguyễn Trãi, Emperor Lý Thái Tổ, Emperor Trần Nhân Tông, General Võ Nguyên Giáp, Prince Nguyễn Phúc Ánh, and regional heroes from Chi Lăng, Bạch Đằng River, Đống Đa Hills, and the Cochinchina Campaigns. Plays explore loyalty, filial piety, betrayal, and cosmic order informed by texts like Đại Nam thực lục and narrative cycles used by playwrights including Nguyễn Huy Tưởng and Lưu Quang Vũ. Villainous roles reference archetypes from Lục Vân Tiên and historically inflected figures tied to events such as the Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút and the Tây Sơn Rebellion.

Costumes, Makeup, and Masks

Costuming derives from court attire worn in Imperial examinations, Court of the Nguyễn, Mandarin robes, and regional dress from Tonkin, Annam, and Cochinchina, with motifs borrowed from textiles produced in Hanoi Old Quarter, Hue silk workshops, Saigon couturiers, and artisan communities in Hội An. Makeup uses color codes paralleling methods in Beijing opera and Kabuki, assigning red for loyalty, white for treachery, and black for integrity; masks and headdresses reference prototypes from Thanh Bình Temple, Ngọc Sơn Temple, and funerary arts preserved in Vietnam Museum of Ethnology. Tailors and artisans trained at institutions like Hue College of Arts and Culture and Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory maintain embroidery techniques seen in regalia of figures such as Emperor Bảo Đại.

Music and Instrumentation

Musical accompaniment integrates orchestration using đàn bầu, đàn nguyệt, đàn tranh, đàn nhị, đờn cò, trống, and sáo trúc, arranged in ensembles influenced by chamber music practices of Vietnam National Academy of Music and rhythmic templates shared with ca trù, chèo, hát chèo, and cải lương. Melodic modes reference regional scales akin to systems studied by ethnomusicologists at École pratique des hautes études, SOAS University of London, Universität Leipzig, and performers associated with companies like Tuồng troupes of Huế and Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh Traditional Arts Company.

Training and Troupes

Performer training follows apprenticeship models under masters such as lineage holders from families tied to Imperial City troupes, instructors affiliated with Vietnam National Academy of Music, and veteran artists who performed during eras of French Indochina and the Republic of Vietnam. Troupes historically performed for patrons including Nguyễn dynasty court, local magistrates, and revolutionary cultural bureaus; notable companies emerged in Hanoi City Conservatory ensembles, provincial houses in Nghệ An, Quảng Nam, and touring ensembles linked to festivals in Da Nang and Vinh. Training regimes emphasize vocal technique, martial choreography from texts used by Nguyễn Huệ’s retinue, and recitative methods preserved by figures like Bạch Ngọc Ánh.

Modern Developments and Preservation

Contemporary efforts involve revitalization projects sponsored by UNESCO, Vietnamese cultural ministries such as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, universities like Vietnam National University, Hanoi, and NGOs collaborating with museums including the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology and regional cultural centers in Huế, Hanoi Opera House, and Saigon Opera House. Adaptations intersect with cinema via directors associated with Trần Anh Hùng, Anh Hung Tran, playwrights like Nguyễn Quang Sáng, and interdisciplinary festivals such as Huế Festival, Hanoi Festival, and the Asia-Pacific Theatre Festival. Archival work occurs at institutions including National Library of Vietnam, Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences, École française d'Extrême-Orient, and international partners like British Library, Bibliothèque nationale de France, and Library of Congress to document scripts, scores, and oral histories. Category:Vietnamese performing arts