The successor of a great theatrical family: Thanh Ton Family - Huynh Mai

Meritorious Artist Thanh Loc is famous in drama, but he originally belonged to the lineage of veteran Southern opera singers. And his father, People's Artist Thanh Ton, after 1975, still contributed a lot to the stage, receiving recognition from both the state and the audience.

FOUR GENERATIONS OF HAT BOI

The first generation was Mr. Nguyen Van Sy, a mandarin of the Nguyen Dynasty who was knowledgeable in the art of hát bội. He left the capital to live in the South and trained his children and villagers to perform together during festivals, communal house and pagoda ceremonies, creating a vibrant cultural space. The second generation was Mr. Nguyen Van Luong and his wife, Tran Thi Muoi, who inherited the art of hát bội from their father, becoming both artists and managers who founded the Phước Long troupe, operating throughout the Vĩnh Long region and the Southwest. The third generation was actor Nguyễn Văn Nở, who grew up in his father's Phước Long troupe, but in 1947 he went to war and died in 1952, leaving behind his son, Nguyễn Thành Tôn.

Meritorious Artist Bach Long (right) and his student Bach Tu My in the play Spring Returns on the Land of Thang Long

PHOTO: HK

Nguyen Thanh Ton was a member of the fourth generation. His family sent him to school, but he dropped out early. At the age of 13, he returned to his hometown to live in the Phuoc Long opera troupe of his grandfather, Mr. Luong. He began learning the art of singing from the smallest roles such as soldiers, servants, and flag bearers. At the age of 17, he gradually advanced to the roles of minor actors and supporting roles. His grandfather did not have any special privileges for his grandson, but trained him strictly from the bottom up.

In the 1930s, hát bội gradually lost its position while cải lương was developing. Thanh Tôn went to study with great artists about cải lương singing and performance and also learned to play the đàn kim, cố, and sen, so he had outstanding knowledge and skills, deeper than his peers.

In 1940, his grandfather passed away, his father stopped the troupe, Thanh Ton packed up and went to Saigon to sing for many troupes, including Vinh Xuan troupe of Mr. Thang (Minh To family). In 1945, he joined the resistance for a few years, then returned to work in the inner city with artists Tran Huu Trang and Nguyen Thanh Chau, and together they established the Artists' Mutual Aid Association to work secretly. But he still did not give up opera, and together with his friends, he founded the Van Hac troupe, leading it, writing and editing scripts to perform regularly on Saigon Radio.

After 1975, artist Thanh Ton participated in the establishment of the Ho Chi Minh City Opera Troupe, and devoted all his heart to researching new ways of acting, writing scripts, and staging to suit today's audiences. He cared about young artists, because he wanted them to preserve the art of opera and reformed opera for Vietnamese culture. He was famous for being strict in training and passing on his profession, and the next generation is grateful to him for his dedication.

During his time singing for the Wing Chun band, he met and married Ms. Huynh Mai, the daughter of Mr. Thang. She was also a Cantonese and classical opera singer, so the two artistic bloodlines blended together to produce talents like Thanh Loc.

The fifth generation of diverse talent

The artist couple Thanh Ton - Huynh Mai have children such as Bach Le, Bach Luu, Bach Ly, Bach Long, Thanh Loc, all of whom are excellent in each field of art. They grew up together in the space of Cau Quan communal house, were strictly educated by their parents, and that childhood left a very deep artistic mark.

Artist Bach Le as Dieu Tam Xuan

PHOTO: HK

Artist Bach Le became a famous actress from Ho Quang to Tuong Co. She had the charisma to play both martial and literary roles, the mother of the world. She was directly taught the profession by her parents, and lived in the cradle of the Minh To class, so at the age of 8 she became famous for her role as Quach Hai Tho (in the play Bao Cong judges Quach Hoe ). Growing up, she had many famous roles such as Luu Kim Dinh, Dieu Tam Xuan, Than Nu... She was nominated for the Thanh Tam award, unfortunately after 1968 due to the war situation, this award was discontinued. In 1972, 1973, 1974 she consecutively won the Best Actress award voted by Trang Den newspaper. Each season, there were also a number of artists voted with her, but Bach Le was continuously chosen for 3 consecutive years, proving that her talent was quite special. After 1975, she continued to impress with the role of Thuong Duong Queen, and became married to artist Thanh Bach of the Huynh Long family. But because she was worried about her children's future, she and her husband moved to France to settle down, worked in a factory, and singing became her "left-hand job". However, Bach Le and Thanh Bach still appeared very steadily in many shows, making the audience admire them.

Bach Luu is good at managing troupes, editing scripts, and regularly providing programs for television stations; even when she settled abroad, she still collaborated with a television station to convey the values of reformed opera. Bach Ly is a great drummer of reformed opera and music troupes. Bach Long and Thanh Loc are two bright stars in the field of drama. (to be continued)

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/truyen-nhan-cua-dai-gia-toc-san-khau-gia-toc-thanh-ton-huynh-mai-185250724222918636.htm