French artists to perform 'Tale of Kieu'

Vietnam's epic Tale of Kieu will be performed by French and Vietnamese artists in September 25 at French Cultural Centre (Photo courtesy of L'espace)

 Vietnamese epic The Tale of Kieu will be performed by French artists for the first time in Hanoi on September 25.

Entitled Kim Van Kieu, the script is adapted from French language research by Nguyen Van Vinh and Nguyen Khac Vien.

Director Christophe Thiry combines different art genres such as drama, dance, opera and singing to express the masterpiece's takes on life, love, violation, misfortune, hope, ruthlessness and emptiness.

The Tale of Kieu by poet Nguyen Du (1766-1820) is regarded as one of Vietnam’s top literary works. Du was honoured by UNESCO in 2013 as a cultural figurehead.

The masterpiece has been translated into more than 20 languages and is cherished for its creativity, independent thinking and distillation of Vietnamese culture.

It is about the life and trials of Thuy Kieu, a talented and beautiful young woman who has to sacrifice herself to save her family.

She sells herself into a loveless marriage in exchange for her father’s and younger brother’s freedom from prison, not knowing the man she marries is a pimp.

Eight artists will perform and play violin, piano and guitar and Vietnamese traditional instruments.

The show was successful when it debuted in Paris in June 2017. The show will be performed in French. A board with Vietnamese subtitles will be hung on the stage at the French Cultural Centre./.

VNA