Early days in Le Thuy’s performing career
- Thứ tư - 23/07/2014 09:11
- |In ra
- |Đóng cửa sổ này
CLVNCOM - I still remember how much I cried when I watched Le Thuy playing the main character in the play named To Anh Nguyet or in some other plays such as “Ao Cuoi Truoc Cong Chua” (Wedding dress in front of the pagoda gate) and “Luong Son Ba, Chuc Anh Dai”… I do not really know how and when I became addicted to her voice and the characters she portrayed in those plays, but I know for sure that many Le Thuy’s fans love her down-to-earth yet wonderful performing style with a sweet and terrific singing voice. The mixture of contralto and soprano in her voice is so unique that one cannot find it in any other singers.
Le
Thuy
started
her
singing
career
at
the
age
of
14
in
1961
on
the
stage
of
Tram
Vang
troupe
where
she
took
her
beginning
steps
to
the
arts
of
Cai
luong.
Le
Thuy
was
the
god-daughter
of
the
couple
Muoi
Cua,
the
troupe’s
musician,
and
she
joined
the
troupe
to
learn
how
to
sing
Cai
luong.
Because
she
was
not
its
official
member,
she
did
not
get
any
singing
parts
when
the
troupe
went
on
tours
to
remote
areas.
In
order
to
give
Le
Thuy
an
opportunity
to
have
the
parts
in
a
play,
Mr.
and
Mrs.
Muoi
introduced
her
to
the
couple
Thanh
Son
–
Kim
Ha,
who
were
the
leading
artists
for
Tram
Vang,
to
be
their
god-sister.
Le Thuy recalled: “This was the first spring I lived apart from my family, so I felt very sad. The sadness multiplied when I was more like a servant to those leading artists than one of the troupe’s official members. I would have been happy even in a smallest role such as that of a maid but I was not given a chance! Nevertheless, because of the tremendous love for Cai luong and the desire to perform on stage, I swallowed my pride and put aside all my unhappiness and bitterness to learn how to sing. I was determined to become a leading actress some day.”
Six months later, all the self-pity and difficulties faded away little by little when the owner of the troupe discovered Le Thuy’s wonderful and high-pitched voice, and he employed her to sing backstage. At that time, she was still a little girl, so she could only handle those small parts. Nevertheless, Asia recording company invited her to record Cai luong songs in 1962, and her first recorded song was “Nau Banh Dem Xuan” (Cooking rice cakes on New Year Eve). Le Thuy turned over all of her earnings from this song to her mother.
One year later, Le Thuy became the leading actress in the troupe when actresses Thanh Huong’s and My Ngoc’s contracts ended. Several months after that, Le Thuy became so well-known and was a much-sought-after singer by many other troupes that hoped to bring her wonderful voice to their audience.
Seeing that, Kim Chung’s owner, her then-manager, increased her salary 5 times (from $50,000 VND to $250,000 VND) in an attempt to keep her. A few months later, her salary went up to $600,000 VND and then to one $1,000,000 VND, which made Le Thuy “a millionaire” at the young age of 17. It was in the same year that she received another great joy – she was awarded the prestigious Thanh Tam award in the promising-artist category.
Success and happiness continued to come to her in the following years. Unfortunately, in 1968, her house was burned down in the war, but the support from her loyal fans and the troupe owner, Mr. Long, helped her overcome all that. What Le Thuy had tasted and experienced in the early days of her career did not discourage or dampen her spirit, she still felt very blessed than many others.
Le Thuy got married in 1973, but she did not ignore her duties toward her parents and siblings. At that time, she also received other prestigious awards such as “Bao Bien” and “Most beloved/admired performer of the year”… She got the honor to perform in the neighboring countries and in Western Europe. In 1992, she was awarded the title of the meritorious artist by the government. And she has promised to devote more time to the traditional arts of Vietnamese opera, even in her old age.
Translated by onlyyou & lekt
Le Thuy recalled: “This was the first spring I lived apart from my family, so I felt very sad. The sadness multiplied when I was more like a servant to those leading artists than one of the troupe’s official members. I would have been happy even in a smallest role such as that of a maid but I was not given a chance! Nevertheless, because of the tremendous love for Cai luong and the desire to perform on stage, I swallowed my pride and put aside all my unhappiness and bitterness to learn how to sing. I was determined to become a leading actress some day.”
Six months later, all the self-pity and difficulties faded away little by little when the owner of the troupe discovered Le Thuy’s wonderful and high-pitched voice, and he employed her to sing backstage. At that time, she was still a little girl, so she could only handle those small parts. Nevertheless, Asia recording company invited her to record Cai luong songs in 1962, and her first recorded song was “Nau Banh Dem Xuan” (Cooking rice cakes on New Year Eve). Le Thuy turned over all of her earnings from this song to her mother.
One year later, Le Thuy became the leading actress in the troupe when actresses Thanh Huong’s and My Ngoc’s contracts ended. Several months after that, Le Thuy became so well-known and was a much-sought-after singer by many other troupes that hoped to bring her wonderful voice to their audience.
Seeing that, Kim Chung’s owner, her then-manager, increased her salary 5 times (from $50,000 VND to $250,000 VND) in an attempt to keep her. A few months later, her salary went up to $600,000 VND and then to one $1,000,000 VND, which made Le Thuy “a millionaire” at the young age of 17. It was in the same year that she received another great joy – she was awarded the prestigious Thanh Tam award in the promising-artist category.
Success and happiness continued to come to her in the following years. Unfortunately, in 1968, her house was burned down in the war, but the support from her loyal fans and the troupe owner, Mr. Long, helped her overcome all that. What Le Thuy had tasted and experienced in the early days of her career did not discourage or dampen her spirit, she still felt very blessed than many others.
Le Thuy got married in 1973, but she did not ignore her duties toward her parents and siblings. At that time, she also received other prestigious awards such as “Bao Bien” and “Most beloved/admired performer of the year”… She got the honor to perform in the neighboring countries and in Western Europe. In 1992, she was awarded the title of the meritorious artist by the government. And she has promised to devote more time to the traditional arts of Vietnamese opera, even in her old age.
Translated by onlyyou & lekt