HBSO brings Ballet Kieu back to opera house

Updated: Mar 28

Ballet Kiều, an award-winning ballet staged by the HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO), will return to the city Opera House on March 23 and 24.

HIGH ART - Ballet Kiều, an award-winning ballet staged by the HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera, will return to the city Opera House on March 23 and 24. Photo courtesy of HBSO

HCM CITY Ballet Kiều, an award-winning ballet staged by the HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO), will return to the city Opera House on March 23 and 24.

The ballet, based on Truyện Kiều (The Tale of Kiều), the 18th-century poetic masterpiece by great poet Nguyễn Du (1765-1820), won the excellence awards at the National Dance and Music Festival in the Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) province of Đắk Lắk in June 2022.

The piece, written by veteran choreographer Tuyết Minh in 2018, recounts the life, trials, and tribulations of Thúy Kiều, a beautiful and talented young woman who sacrificed herself to save her family.

It was first staged in HCM City and Hà Nội in 2020.

Minh, a pioneer in popularising contemporary dance, has written, directed, and choreographed 18 ballets and contemporary dances such as Con Tạo Xoay (The Spinning Top) and Vợ Chồng A Phủ (A Phủ and His Wife).

The choreography for the ballet is created by Nguyễn Phúc Hùng, the general director in charge of HBSO's programmes.

Hùng, a graduate in choreography of Fontys Dance Academy in the Netherlands, has choreographed several contemporary dances such as Chạm Tay Vào Quá Khứ (Touching the Past), Đi Qua Tình Yêu (Gone Through Love), and Falling Angels.

Musicians Việt Anh and Chinh Ba are in charge of music for the show.

Anh, who earned a Master of Music at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, is known for his instrumental works, movie soundtracks, and pop songs, while Chinh Ba, founder of CAB (Culture and Arts Base) in Hội An, is a multimedia artist having worked in poetry, art, sound, music, and theatre.

CHILD PRODIGY - Dancer Thạch Hiểu Lăng will play Thuý Kiều in Ballet Kiều. Photo courtesy of HBSO

The ballet will highlight young dancer Thạch Hiểu Lăng as Thuý Kiều.

Lăng began to learn dancing when she was four years old. She has worked with HBSO in ballets such as Cinderella, Carmen, Giselle, The Nutcracker, and Coppelia.