BackArts & Culture » Culture » [Video] At a Hero's Tomb, Vibrant Vietnamese Opera Mesmerizes Passersby

[Video] At a Hero's Tomb, Vibrant Vietnamese Opera Mesmerizes Passersby

The first full moon of the lunar year is a big deal for Saigon’s Chinese community.

Every year, two weeks after the first day of Tet come the first full moon of the first lunar month. During this occasion, practicing Buddhists and most of the Chinese-Vietnamese communities in Saigon and Vietnam gather at spiritual buildings all over the country to pray and put forth offerings in hopes of an auspicious year ahead.

In this feature video, Saigoneer makes a trek to the Tomb of Le Van Duyet – better known as Lang Ong-Ba Chieu in Vietnamese – in Binh Thanh District to relish on the visual feast that is hát tuồng. These vibrant, high-stylized, and dramatized performances are among the oldest forms of cultural entertainment in Vietnam.

If you’ve been to a recent art exhibition organized by Saigon’s crop of young creatives on the age-old art, "Ve Ve Hat Boi," this would be a good chance to witness hát bội in its original form. For the first full moon event, local performers showcased Ngoc Ky Lan, one of the most iconic plays of Vietnamese opera.

Have a gander at the colorful performance here:


Related Articles:

Ve Ve Hat Boi: Saving Vietnam’s Age-Old Art With Youthful Passion

Preserving Hanoi's Hang Trong Paintings Through Digitization

A Visit to Saigon's Jade Emperor Pagoda 2 Weeks Before Tet


Related Articles

in Culture

10 Incredible Photos Of Life On Hanoi's Train Tracks

Traffic in Vietnam is crazy but the train tracks that skirt through Hanoi’s residential areas reach levels of insanity.

in Culture

10 Photos Of The Amazing Vietnamese Spider-Men

While some Vietnamese cities have begun to move their tangled nests of electricity wires underground, they are still a ubiquitous feature of many urban neighborhoods.

in Culture

12 Of Saigon’s Best Parks And Open Spaces – Part 1

Though Saigon has lost quite a bit of its verdant luster over the years, there are still patches of green throughout the city that are worth checking out. Vietnam Coracle has made a handy guide to som...

in Culture

12 Of Saigon’s Best Parks And Open Spaces – Part 2

Though Saigon has lost quite a bit of its verdant luster over the years, there are still patches of green throughout the city that are worth checking out.Vietnam Coraclehas made a handy guide to some ...

in Culture

14 Incredible Satellite Photos Of Vietnam

There are plenty of hi-tech ways to show Vietnam’s beauty – time lapses and drone panoramas to name a few. But a less common vantage point is from above. Way above.

in Culture

15 Amazing Moments Captured On Vietnam’s Streets

In Vietnamese cities, streets are where life happens. With few parks available to the country’s urban masses, they serve as everything from entertainment venues to wedding halls to restaurants. They a...

Partner Content