Vietnamese folk music featured at Netherlands’ Oerol Festival

The Veenfabrik Theater successfully staged and performed a modern-style play called "Wereld van Wie?" (World of Whom), a creative blend of simple yet profound philosophical dialogues intertwined with Vietnamese music rich in folk elements, at Oerol Festival on Terschelling island in Friesland province of the Netherlands last weekend.
A performance by artists at Veenfabrik Theater (Photo: VNA)
A performance by artists at Veenfabrik Theater (Photo: VNA)

The play tells the story of Phi Nguyen, a boy born in the ancient capital of Hue, who migrated to the Netherlands at the age of 3 and grew up with ups and downs of life.

The theater invited composer Ngo Hong Quang, who graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague a few years ago, to participate as a performing musician on the monochord, fiddle, and mouth organ, as well as to serve as a consultant on Vietnamese customs and traditions, and teach the other actors to sing "Ly Cay Da" in Vietnamese.

During this occasion, the theater troupe served nearly 10,000 people. Many of them affirmed that after watching the play, they felt a closer connection with Vietnam.

The Oerol Festival has been held annually for over 40 years, attracting nearly 50,000 spectators each occasion, which is ten times of the island's population. This year, the festival is taking place from June 9-18, featuring 40 art troupes from the European country.

VNA