”WIND” – Dialogue of Piano & Chèo Opera by pianist Pho An My

Sat 29 Oct 2016, 8 – 10 pm
Labor Theater
43 Trang Tien, Hanoi

From the organizer:

After “Shadow” and “Fire,” both of which are representative of the discursive musical style, have caught the attention of critics, audience and the press, pianist Phó An My and composer Đặng Tuệ Nguyên collaborate again, in 2016, to present “Wind.” Also written in the same discursive style, this work is inspired by a classic Chèo opera, “Guanyin Thị Kính,” although it does not adhere to the opera’s traditional plot. It characterizes two female archetypes, one symbolizing Patience, and the other symbolizing Thirst (for love, for life). Thus, we have the injustice suffered by Thị Kính, and the chaos caused by Thị Màu.

About Chèo opera “Guanyin Thị Kính”

Thị Kính, from the state of Cao Ly, lived her previous life as a religious man, who was near the end of his path to enlightenment, when Siddhartha decided to test his will, and let him be reborn into a poor family, as a girl and destined for sufferings and misfortunes. When the girl, who is named Thị Kính, came of age, she married a student named Sùng Thiện Sĩ. One night, Sùng Thiện Sĩ fell asleep during his study, with Thị Kính sewing beside him. She saw a strand of hair growing backwards on his chin and wanted to cut it off, when Sùng Thiện Sĩ suddenly woke up, and seeing his wife with a knife in her hand, thought she wanted to kill him. He screamed, and his parents came. They accused Thị Kính of attempted murder, and kicked her out of the house, forcing her to go back to her biological parents. With her heart broken and her reputation ruined, Thị Kính went to live as a monk at the temple of Vân Tự, disguised as a man, adopting the name of Kính Tâm.

In the same village, there was a promiscuous woman named Thị Mầu, who was the daughter of a rich man. She saw Kính Tâm at the temple, and became desirous of the young and good looking monk. She tried to seduce Kính Tâm, but to no avail, as the latter was completely oblivious to her flirtation. To quench her lust, Thị Mầu went to bed with a servant, and became pregnant with him. When the village elders interrogated her about the pregnancy, she named Kính Tâm as the father. Consequently, Kính Tâm was forced out of the temple, and had to live at its gate. Thị Mầu then gave birth to a son, whom she left to Kính Tâm to raise. When the child was three years old, Kính Tâm became fatally sick. Before her death, she wrote a letter to her parents and to the child. When people read her letter, they realized she has been unjustly accused of attempted murder, and when they prepared her body for burial, they discovered she was a woman. Thus, she was cleared of any wrongdoing. Siddartha observed what she went through, found her virtuous, and made made her Guanyin bodhisattva.

Tickets

Ticket prices: 600,000 VND, 800,000 VND, 1,000,000 VND

Hotline: 0169 8969 489/ 0123 9008 284
Online tickets at ticketbox.vn. https://ticketbox.vn/event/gio-wind-62747/37376#