Lepage has few equals when it comes to creating searing images. When its members simultaneously opened up their Chinese robes to reveal hitherto hidden puppets, it was pure magic - and the show was full of these moments of childlike wonder. Since the pool was in the pit, the Canadian Opera Company orchestra was on the stage itself, jammed in there with a 34-strong chorus. Lepage centered his staging around a long pool, with singers - in full traditional Chinese costumes - wading in to push boats and animate dragons, and assistants helping out with various accessories and puppets. In Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Nightingale,” a spunky little bird charms a powerful Emperor, and actually saves him from the clutches of Death. On paper, “The Nightingale” had the makings of a total multiculti clusterfrak: A Canadian director borrows from Vietnamese water puppetry to illustrate a tale about a Chinese emperor written by a Dane and set to music by a Russian-French-American composer. Robert Lepage has been in the news this past year for his popular, headline-grabbing new Ring at the Met, and “The Nightingale and Other Fables” - set to various pieces of music by Igor Stravinsky - confirms why he’s one of the most imaginative directors currently active. Water puppetry is now frequently performed in puppet theaters in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and it is regret if you miss the chance to enjoy it.I was mightily intrigued after reading my colleague James Jorden’s preview of “The Nightingale and Other Fables”: classical singers manipulating puppets in a huge above-ground pool? Sign me up! And the show, which is at BAM until Sunday, did not disappoint last night. In current times, water puppetry has become a popular form of entertainment, especially for local children and foreigners who want to discover more about Vietnamese folk culture. Through water puppetry plays, rural people also expressed their desire for a better life of prosperity and happiness. In order to communicate with each other, puppeteers have to use dialect and code-words to keep the show going on smoothly and to prevent others overhearing talk of their particular technique.Īs briefly mentioned, the content of a water puppet show reflect folktales stories about the very daily lives of ancient people, or fairy tales inherited from generation to generation with educational meaning or satire bad habits. The art of performing water puppet show lies behind the scene where there are 8 puppeteers stand behind a split-bamboo screen, decorated to resemble a temple façade, and control the intricate movement by long bamboo rods and string. Water Puppet Artists Have to Submerge Their Bodies In The Water During Performance - Photo: longlinkwaterpuppet.vn During festival times at ancient villages in the North, water puppet is also performed on traditional ponds. Water puppetry is now widely performed at theaters in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, in a pool of water 2 meters square with the water surface being the stage. In the recent decades, water puppetry is coming back to its hey days thanks to the normalization and restless effort of cultural researchers in promoting the image of Vietnam heritage. Apart from satisfying the entertaining demand of ancient people, water puppetry is somewhat a kind of ritual to satisfy wandering spirits so that they would not cause mischief. Originĭeveloped from the 11th century by villagers in the Red river area of Vietnam, water puppet reflects the real daily life of people, with casual stories from the kitchen to the fishing pond and paddy fields. Together with eye-catching puppets made of wood and lacquered, water puppet shows are attractive thanks to meaningful stories hidden inside, as well as the secret technique of controlling puppet under the water without seeing anything. Water Puppetry Performance - Vibrant Scene and Sounds From its first appearance in the 11th century until now, water puppetry has always been a unique variation of the ancient Asian puppet tradition. Vietnam water puppetry or “múa rối nước” in Vietnamese is the pride of people living in Red River Delta.
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