He was named "king of the stage" by the cai luong theater world in the true sense: good singing, good acting, the dignified demeanor of a big star and above all, a true and beautiful love of art.
Remembering Mr. Bay Don "The Suburban Man"
Not long ago, when I visited author Minh Khoa, the father of the stage play "People on the outskirts of the city", he praised the pair of top artists who created the strong attraction for the revolutionary play on the stage of the Saigon 1 Opera Troupe, that is the "first famous singer" Ut Tra On and the "king of the stage" Thanh Duoc. The two characters: Bay Don (Thanh Duoc) and Tam Khoe (Ut Tra On) are typical of the people of the land of 18 betel garden villages (Hoc Mon district, Ho Chi Minh City today) protecting the revolutionary soldiers.
The play "The People on the outskirts of the city" has left an indelible mark on the hearts of audiences who love reformed theater with a story imbued with humanity and love for the homeland and country revolving around the couple Mr. Bay Don and Mr. Tam Khoe who endured much pain in their lives to protect Mr. Sau Ho - a character who had a great influence on the achievements of our army in the resistance war against America.
“King of the stage” Thanh Duoc and “sorrowful woman” Ut Bach Lan. (Photo: DOCUMENT)
Author Minh Khoa highly appreciated the creativity of the Saigon 1 troupe of actors after the country's reunification. The character Bay Don, played by the talented artist Thanh Duoc, when his eyes were gouged out to "set an example" for the villagers for opposing the US, was very impressive.
Until now, when mentioning this famous work, the audience still cannot forget the image of the character Bay Don, who, even though he was blind, still boldly pointed straight at the enemy and spoke his heartfelt wishes on behalf of the people of the 18 betel garden villages, looking forward to the feats of Uncle Ho's soldiers.
Previously, also on Saigon 1 stage, artist Thanh Duoc successfully performed the role of Truong Dinh in the play "Binh Tay Dai Nguyen Soai" by author - People's Artist Nguyen Thanh Chau, creating another highlight in the audience's hearts about a heroic Vietnamese historical figure.
Both of these works were nominated by the Ho Chi Minh City Theater Association in the list of consideration for the Ho Chi Minh City Outstanding Theater Works Award (1975 - 2025) towards the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification.
A flirtatious singer
In 2009, when I went to the US, a friend took me to the restaurant of artist Thanh Duoc in San Jose, California to visit him. At that time, he was still healthy, during a short conversation over a friendly meal, he recounted many unforgettable memories of his artistic life in his homeland. For him, the roles he plays are all more or less imbued with the artist's feelings, so he does not act but transforms, because in each character's personality there is a part of the thorny, difficult life of an artist.
Calling him a playboy or "king of the stage" are just words to embellish the mission he pursues, which is to beautify life through the stage. I remember him saying that if there was a real Linh Nam in the story "Stage at night" by People's Artist Nguyen Thanh Chau, it would be him - also talented, also a producer, also had a wife who was the main actress - "sorrowful woman" Ut Bach Lan and also had a broken marriage. He loved the character Linh Nam because he knew how to see his mistakes and returned to Giang Huong to rebuild his career.
He believes that the humanized art in each work of People's Artist Nguyen Thanh Chau has given him the compass to work since he had the opportunity to learn from this teacher. He respects and considers his teacher's creative tendency with the criteria of "Real and Beautiful" as a path not only for himself but also for his colleagues. After the country's reunification, he joined the Saigon 1 Cai Luong Troupe, where there were also People's Artist Nguyen Thanh Chau, People's Artist Phung Ha, People's Artist Ba Van... His tours to serve the people in the countryside and his famous roles were also formed during this time.
Artist Tu Trinh - the only domestic artist present at the farewell program of artist Thanh Duoc in the US in 2010 - said: "At that time, he was emotional when he invited me to the stage to speak. He held my hand tightly and whispered: "Brother Hai did not expect you to attend my program". Then I reminded him of his memories of the cai luong stage, which until now no one has performed through the characters: Thi Dang (play "Tieng hac trong trang"), Tung ("Nua doi huong phan"), Vo Minh Thanh ("Doi co Luu"), To Dien Son ("Khi hoa anh dao" bloom)..." - artist Tu Trinh emotionally recalled.
What surprised the stage artists even more was when "sorrowful woman" Ut Bach Lan traveled to the US in 2010. He and she reunited at his restaurant. They sang and performed with their colleagues an excerpt from "Half a Life of Perfume". That was the last time the audience saw Tung and Huong on stage.
"No one could have expected that he would pass away on the 7th anniversary of the death of his "sad woman" - the wife he once loved. The two of them had created many beautiful love stories on the cai luong stage. Both were examples of serious artistic work and a thirst for creativity for the younger generation" - playwright Hoang Song Viet expressed.
Artist Thanh Duoc's real name is Chau Van Duoc, born in 1934, in Ke Sach, Soc Trang. He has suffered from old age for many years, his health and memory have both declined. "However, whenever mentioning old roles, he remembers them clearly, even remembers the songs. His passing is a great sadness for our generation of artists because in the industry, he is like an elder brother" - People's Artist Le Thuy shared.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/van-nghe/vinh-biet-ong-hoang-san-khau-thanh-duoc-20231117213102607.htm
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