People Artist Thanh Hoai has been retired for nearly ten years, but she seems to be busier than when she was an actress at the Vietnam Traditional Operetta Theatre. She has a busy schedule with shows and lectures on Cheo both at home and abroad so I was only able to interview her when she had a free moment.
I met her on the day when she had just returned home from a 30-day tour in France so she told me a great deal about the tour. During the shows, Thanh Hoai sang the background songs of the water puppet show entitled “The Teacher of Puppets” that was staged by Dominique Pitoiset, Director of the Bordeuax Grand Theatre. It was an artistic project jointly implemented by the Vietnam National Puppet Theatre, the International Theatre Institute and the Bordeuax Grand Theatre. Thanks to her sweet voice and talent, Thanh Hoai impressed the French audiences with sweet lyrics and melodies of not only Cheo but also other Vietnamese traditional genres, Ca tru (choral chamber music), Chau van (chants sung for a trance), chanting poems and quoting Kieu Tales. The show was a resounding success in France.
 

For Thanh Hoai, it was an unforgettable tour with long-lasting impressions about the love of French audiences for the Vietnamese puppet shows and the sentiments of the overseas Vietnamese towards the Vietnamese puppet troupe. She said: “The overseas Vietnamese in France love their fatherland, Cheo and other traditional Vietnamese genres. Seeing me in the traditional costume of a four-flap dress and headscarf, many elderly people who have lived far from their homeland for years could not hold back their tears because of their nostalgia. How moved I was!”
When she was little, Hoai was so keen on singing Cheo that she snuck out of her house to see Cheo performances and she learnt by heart the lyrics and melodies of Cheo by imitating the artists in the Thai Binh Cheo Troupe. Then, she participated in the province’s artistic troupe and she became a part of Cheo in 1965. Since then she has whole-heartedly devoted herself to the art and has always worried about Cheo no longer being a favourite on the stage.
Her acting career was probably marked by her lifelong role as Xuy Van in the excerpt of “Xuy Van Feigns Madness” in “Kim Nham”, an ancient Cheo play. Although she has played the role several times, each time seeing her performance and listening to her singing, the audience felt thrilled. The character of Xuy Van requires special and difficult skills and techniques of Cheo, from controlling facial muscles to stare, glance, smile, and laugh as a madwoman. Furthermore, the artist must master skills of singing Cheo, which requires a clear soprano voice for resonance. Every movement, gesture, glance and especially laugh reflects the innermost feelings and emotions of the character. For those who love Cheo, Thanh Hoai is the most widely known actress for the role of “Xuy Van” which has become the example for generations of artists to follow.
Besides the role of Xuy Van, Thanh Hoai also has shown her talent in the art of Cheo through a series of principal characters in Cheo plays such as “Tu Thuc Meets Fairy”, “Kieu in Ngung Bich Brothel”, “Quan Am Thi Kinh” and “Ba Chua Lieu”. She has won many awards at both domestic and international festivals.

People’s Artist Thanh Hoai instructs young artists of the Vietnam Cheo Theatre. Photo: Nguyen A Artist Vu Dinh Quan and People’s Artist Thanh Hoai in “Luu Binh Duong Le”, an ancient Cheo play. Photo: Tran Thanh Giang People’s Artist Thanh Hoai’s relatives enjoy her sweet voice. Photo: Nguyen A

Although she is now retired, her love for Cheo remains unchanged. She works hard to bequeath her passion to younger generations of artists and always ponders how best to train students to play the role of “Xuy Van”. Every month she has shows in the provinces of Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Ha Nam and Hai Duong. She recalled, “During a tour in Phu Tho Province, although the show ended late, some children wanted to learn how to sing Cheo so I stayed late to teach them. The children tried their best and did not want to go home. Some of them also persisted in asking me to continue teaching them more. Seeing their aspiration for learning Cheo, I was moved and felt more passionate about the art.”
Despite the fact that the art of Cheo is not as popular as in previous times, Thanh Hoai still believes that there are still young artists who will devote their lives to the art like the elderly masters did and with great effort she continues making a contribution to preserving and promoting this traditional genre.