HÀ NỘI — A poetry, music, and theatre evening titled Hoa Cúc Xanh (Green Daisy) will be staged to honour the late poet Xuân Quỳnh (1942-1988) on the occasion of the anniversary of her 80th birthday.
The event, co-organised by the Nông Thôn Ngày Nay newspaper and the late author’s family, will include a poetry recital, music, and theatre performance.
It will be divided into four parts, each titled after one of Xuân Quỳnh’s classic poems, including Bầu Trời Trong Quả Trứng (Sky viewed from the Eggshell), Tự Hát (Self singing), Sóng (Wave), and Hoa Cúc Xanh (Green Daisy).
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| Lovers of Vietnamese poetry will never get over the 1988 vehicle disaster that took the lives of Xuân Quỳnh (right) and her husband Lưu Quang Vũ (left). Photo courtesy of the poet’s family |
The centrepiece of the show, according to the organisers, is Hoa Cúc Xanh (Green Daisy), a play written by director Nguyễn Hoàng Điệp and staged by Meritorious Artist Trần Lực.
The play connects concepts from the poem of the same name by poet Xuân Quỳnh and the well-known play Green Daisy On The Swamp by her spouse and playwright Lưu Quang Vũ, such that the two works appear to be linked in unique ways.
Another notable aspect of the event is the poetic performance of artists Lê Khanh, Chiều Xuân, Minh Trang, Lan Hương, and Đỗ Kỷ, which will provide a truer perspective of Quỳnh and Vũ’s love as well as their artistic soul.
Several of the performances in the night will be making their stage debuts, featuring songs that musicians Nguyễn Vĩnh Tiến, Giáng Son, Lưu Quang Minh, and vocalist Bùi Lan Hương composed especially for the show.
According to director Nguyễn Hoàng Điệp, the show’s cast and crew spent a huge amount of time deliberating, discussing, and incorporating numerous novel ideas with a fresh, modern take in the screenplay in order to leave a lasting impact on the audience.
It was also disclosed by Diệp that the visual on stage will be a kaleidoscope of hues both ancient and new, bringing the audience closer to Quỳnh’s life via the poetry and truth of life as it is presented on stage.
The art night will take place at the Hà Nội Opera House on October 5 and 6 at 8pm.
Xuân Quỳnh is widely regarded as one of the century’s finest poetic voices.
Her poems, which are often about motherhood and romance, are full of the raw passion of a woman with a lot of experience with both.
On August 29, 1988, Quỳnh, her husband, Lưu Quang Vũ, and their 12-year-old son, Lưu Quỳnh Thơ, were killed in a vehicle crash in the city of Hải Dương, leaving a legacy of unending sadness for those who admired their works.
After her death, she was awarded the prestigious Hồ Chí Minh Prize for Literature and the Arts in 2017. VNS
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