(VOVworld)- “Red Leaf” (Lá đỏ) is an emotional opera filled with a love for life and the revolutionary spirit, many spectators say. The performance on May 26 in Hanoi depicted the courageous young volunteers who helped Vietnamese troops fight the enemy on the Truong Son battlefields.

A rehearsal of Red Leaf opera on May 24 in Hanoi Opera House (Photo: vnexpress)

The opera was created by a group of  renowned Vietnamese artists, including composer Do Hong Quan, playwright Nguyen Thi Hong Ngat, director Anh Tu, choreographer Anh Phuong and the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra. “Red Leaf”, a large project involving 150 artists, is significant for its humane ideas. Inspired by the famous song “Red Leaf”, with lyrics by Nguyen Dinh Thi and music by Hoang Hiep, it depicts the female volunteers as beautiful and strong as the red leaves of the Truong Son range flying in the gusty winds. In September 2014, work began to stage the opera, which reminded the audience of the harsh but glorious days when generations of young Vietnamese went to the frontier to liberate the south. Playwright Nguyen Thi Hong Ngat told VOV: “I had many memories of the Truong Son trail because at the age of 18, I was sent there to help the soldiers. I tried my best to write poems in every circumstance to express my feelings. When I was offered to write the script of the opera, I used all of my youth’s experiences. I chose volunteer girls and sappers to be the main characters”.

The 2-hour opera told a real, dramatic story of 8 young volunteers who helped to open a strategic supply route along the Truong Son trail linking the north and the south of Vietnam. Everyday they worked hard on building roads and had time to chat with soldiers about their families and lives, feeling satisfied. The opera reached its climax when the 8 volunteers were buried in a cave by bombs. The undaunted youngsters did not flinch from their difficulties and encouraged each other to live until their last breath. People’s artist Pham Anh Phuong, Director of the Vietnam Music, Song and Dance Theatre and choreographer of the opera, said: “The younger generations who have no experience of war can learn from the opera how their predecessors sacrificed their youth at Truong Son. The music and lyrics depicted the harsh, glorious battles and lives of the 8 young girls”.

Composer Do Hong Quan incorporated into the opera chanting melodies, folk songs and famous songs by Hoang Hiep, Vu Trong Hoi and Van Dung about the historic Truong Son battlefield. Playwright Nguyen Thi Hong Ngat used lines and verses from poems written by Nguyen Tien Duat and Nguyen Dinh Thi, making the opera more attractive and real to people.  

The audience was impressed by Red Leaf because its traditional and modern nuances. Playwright Nguyen Thi Hong Ngat said: “In the opera “Red Leaf”, young female volunteers were real, unreal and  immortal. I created the Mountain Genie, who symbolized the Truong Son range, as a story teller. In Vietnamese cheo or traditional operetta, there is also a story teller. So the opera sounds legendary but logical”.

Opera performers sang without microphones and the volume was controlled by the conductor. Choreographer Pham Anh Phuong said: “Do Hong Quan included in the opera excerpts from very familiar songs such as “Red Leaf” and “Marching on Truong Son trail” and beautiful folk melodies. Vietnamese traditional music was used in the opera, a genre of classical music originating from the West”.