Remembering General Le Van Duyet, remembering the play San Hau

On the 193rd anniversary of the death of General Le Van Duyet, the book Ta Quan Le was published with the play San Hau, filled with beautiful memories of Saigon - Gia Dinh.

Scene from the excerpt Ta On Dinh chops Ta (play San Hau) performed by the Ho Chi Minh City Opera House - Photo: LINH DOAN

On this occasion, the Ho Chi Minh City Opera Theatre also performed excerpts from the play San Hau at the mausoleum of General Le Van Duyet in Gia Dinh ward, Ho Chi Minh City.

General Le Van Duyet loved the play San Hau.

The book Ta Quan Le and the play San Hau are among a series of works by scholar Vuong Hong Sen that Tre Publishing House signed a copyright purchase contract with his family from August 2024.

The book is both a memoir and a collection of historical documents and research by Mr. Vuong Hong Sen. He wrote it in 1994 when he was 93 years old, focusing on stories about Lord Le Van Duyet, the Le Van Khoi rebellion, and the origin of San Hau opera.

Many documents have confirmed that Le Van Duyet was the one who brought Hat Boi to the South, because he was extremely fond of Hat Boi and one of the plays he loved was San Hau .

The notes left by Vuong Hong Sen emphasize that Le Van Duyet, in his free time, would engage in cockfighting or watch opera. He built a opera house, hired and appointed unlucky scholars to be opera teachers. He assembled a troupe, selected all skilled artists but no women, so in the plays the female roles would be performed by male actors.

During his research career, scholar Vuong Hong Sen collected many valuable sources of information, so with Ta Quan Le and the play San Hau , the audience will probably find interesting the way he raises questions and discusses.

Artist Kim Tu Long plays Dong Kim Lan in the play San Hau, newly written from the script by playwright Dao Tan, directed by young artist Quynh Anh - Photo: LINH DOAN

The origin of San Hau opera is also a controversial story among experts. Mr. Sen mentioned three versions of San Hau in Binh Dinh, Hue and Saigon, from which he analyzed to clarify the characteristics of each region with the art of Tuong.

In the Saigon version, he speculated that this play was written by Lieutenant Le Van Khoi, the adopted son of Le Van Duyet, with many hidden meanings. Among them was the image of Phan Dinh Cong guarding San Hau citadel, which reminded people of Le Van Duyet guarding Gia Dinh citadel.

However, the author also noted that: "We may have heard wrongly and the origin of the play may also be correct. We ask readers to help us with more opinions...". He also mentioned the people considered to be the authors of San Hau such as writer Tan Kinh, author Dao Tan..., however, he admitted that he did not dare to say whether it was right or wrong because of insufficient documents.

San Hau, never get bored watching

Audiences who love hát bội and cải lương tuong cổ probably cannot help but know tuong San Hậu . This play is said to have been born in the second half of the 18th century. Yet until now, there has not been a single Kỳ Yên festival season where hát bội and cải lương tuong cổ troupes do not perform tuong San Hậu .

The book Ta Quan Le and the play San Hau - Photo: Tre Publishing House

Artist Huu Danh of the Ho Chi Minh City Opera Theatre shared with Tuoi Tre that the troupes of the three regions of North - Central - South when singing San Hau often introduce the original version as being by Mr. Dao Tan.

From that original, later authors can edit it to suit the nature of the group or according to their own perspective and point of view.

As his theater still uses the script of Mr. Dao Tan, which was revised by artist Dinh Bang Phi. San Hau has three acts. In the old days when hát bội was still popular, one act would be performed each night, so to perform the entire play San Hau would take three nights.

However, later the troupes shortened it. Act 1 was often left out because it was quite long, leaving only Acts 2 and 3. Currently, Acts 2 and 3 are combined into one performance lasting nearly 3 hours.

Mr. Danh said: "The most performed excerpt is Ta On Dinh chopping Ta . This is the part that concentrates the essence of opera, not only Vietnamese audiences but also Western audiences love it.

When Khuong Linh Ta was beheaded, a red scarf was thrown over the actor's head to represent the scene of losing his head and blood flowing out. To perform this scene, the artist had to use many difficult and conventional dance techniques to create suspense and stir emotions in the audience's hearts, revealing the integrity of a loyal subject.

It can be said that the audience knows San Hau by heart, but they still watch it over and over again without getting bored. Not only in hát bội, but recently many cải lương troupes have re-staged San Hậu in an edited or newly written style, such as the play Đường về thành San Hậu, the new version of San Hậu by young director Quỳnh Anh.

Scene from the play "The Left General Le Van Duyet - The Man with 9 Death Sentences" by Idecaf Drama Theater - Photo: LINH DOAN

Famous artists such as Kim Tu Long, Tu Suong, Trinh Trinh, Vo Minh Lam... when performing Chau singing often re-enact excerpts of San Hau plays.

This play is not only good in literature, meaning, and promotes good human qualities when facing dark forces, but is also a place for artists to develop their talents because there are many difficult scenes, requiring great inner strength from the artist in harmoniously coordinating singing, acting, and dancing to conquer the audience.

It can be said that for the people of Gia Dinh, General Le Van Duyet is considered a god who is respected and loved by the people. Therefore, until now, there are still many plays about him that are performed seriously, meticulously and warmly welcomed by the audience.

The HCM City Opera has the play Le Cong Ky An (author Huu Danh, director Nguyen Hoang) which won a gold medal at the national festival. The play was also honored as a typical literary and artistic work on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of national reunification.

Cai Luong has plays like Trung Than , Nguoi Mang 9 Sent Tu ... Idecaf Drama Theater currently has the historical play Duc Thuong Cong Ta Quan Le Van Duyet - Nguoi Mang 9 Sent Tu, which sells out every time it is performed.

LINH DOAN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nho-ta-quan-le-van-duyet-nho-tuong-san-hau-20250923095407323.htm