Remembering Ai Lien's voice: Clear as the sound of a crane flying by

Artist Ai Lien in a play - Photo archive

It is a program called Portrait of Ai Lien of Voice of Vietnam Radio.

The program not only briefly introduces her biography and artistic activities, but audiences from near and far also listen to old recordings of Ai Lien's voice with songs like Ly ngua o, Da co hoai lang, Xang xu li, which are very rustic and full of emotion.

Ai Lien: Miss of the North

On his personal page, Mr. Trieu Trung Kien expressed his respect for Ms. Ai Lien. She was the former head of the North Central Opera Troupe, the predecessor of the current Vietnam Opera Theatre.

Perhaps mentioning Northern Cai Luong without mentioning artist Ai Lien would be a big omission.

Some documents say she was born in 1918, but others say it was 1920.

Artist Ai Lien is considered a pioneering generation of artists in many fields such as modern music, reformed opera, cinema...

Her family gave her a good education, she went to Hong Kong to study and can speak many languages.

Ai Lien's love for art was nurtured by her mother, Cai Luong actress Tran Thi Sinh, and her maternal family. She can play many musical instruments, both Vietnamese and Western.

At the age of ten, she played the leading role in the play Truong Van Tue , considered one of the first musicals in Vietnam.

In her autobiography Let the Wind Take You Away, singer Ai Van said that her mother, artist Ai Lien, participated in the Northern beauty contest at the age of 16 and won the highest prize. Therefore, many people called Ai Lien the Miss of the North, Miss of Hanoi, Miss of Indochina…

Artist Ai Lien sings "Old Wharf" by Anh Viet

Ai Lien's voice is as clear as the sound of a crane flying by.

Musician Pham Duy once praised artist Ai Lien as having a voice "as clear as the sound of a crane flying by".

It can be said that Ai Lien is not only beautiful but also very talented. She and her mother once founded a theater troupe in the North. There was a time when she went to the South to work in the Dai Phuoc Cuong theater troupe of the manager Nguyen Ngoc Cuong (the biological father of People's Artist Kim Cuong).

This troupe gathered many talented artists from the South such as Nam Chau, Bay Nhieu, Tu Anh, Nam Phi, Ba Van, Kim Cuc... so Ai Lien learned many good things from Southern reformed opera.

Not only that, during this time she was also one of the pioneering artists recording songs, Southern melodies, and reformed opera repertoire...

During a conversation about the song Da co hoai lang , artist Thanh Loc told Tuoi Tre Online that musician Duc Tri once let him listen to a recording of Ai Lien singing Da co hoai lang, which was very good and impressive.

That recording was the catalyst for him to choose his own way of singing Da co hoai lang in the famous play at stage 5B, Da co hoai lang .

After a period of working in the South, Ai Lien returned to the North and became famous with artists such as Kim Xuan, Bich Hop, Lan Phuong, Kim Chung...

Ai Lien and her husband also founded a film studio. After 1954, she became an artist who actively participated in revolutionary reform in the North.

Ai Lien is a talented actress with many main characters such as Kim Thong ( Weaving brocade ), Vo Thi Sau ( The Red Land Girl )...

Not only acting, she also takes on the role of manager, participates in association activities and trains many generations of cai luong.

Artist Ai Lien also contributed to the Vietnamese art scene with talented children such as artists Ai Van, Ai Xuan, Ai Thanh, Ha Quang Van, Ha Quang Son...

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nho-giong-hat-ai-lien-trong-nhu-tieng-hac-bay-qua-20240625082600171.htm