Meritorious Artist Thanh Loan: A child of Quy Lang Cheo village

(Baonghean) - Born into a family of cadres, her mother was the cultural nucleus of the commune, the folk songs, the plays, and the cheo songs that her mother sang permeated her, giving her a strong passion. For her, the greatest joy after 25 years of pursuing the art of cheo theater is having performed twice in Truong Sa and many regions of the country, leaving many good impressions on the audience...

Sao Village by the poetic Bau Sung River of Lang Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District is where Meritorious Artist Thanh Loan was born and raised. Lang Thanh is considered the cradle of Nghe An's ancient Cheo singing, so when hearing the news that artist Thanh Loan was coming to perform, many people in the commune flocked to the cultural house to watch and cheer.

Artist Thanh Loan. Photo: XH

During a few minutes of conversation, artist Thanh Loan confided: “I came to professional Cheo theater by chance”. Her mother was the core of the commune’s arts, she sang well and was well-known for all types of art, such as Cheo, Tuong, Vi Dam. Her songs naturally penetrated Loan’s subconscious as a way of transmitting and continuing. At the age of 16, she joined the commune’s Cheo team, often performing for the locals on holidays, or when the harvest was finished. In 1986, the commune’s Cheo team went to the district for training, at the same time, the School of Theater and Cinema came to perform and select actors. That sweet “heaven-sent” voice helped Thanh Loan pass the exam. So her dream of working professionally came true. She packed her bags and went to Hanoi to pursue her career.

In 1991, after graduating with a first-class degree, she was assigned to the Army Cheo Theater. Here she was able to contribute freely. With her youth, powerful voice, and solid acting, she was always welcomed in the main roles of the troupe. Until now, she still has not forgotten her first role as a "quan ba" in the play "Tieng hat nguoi ao rag", directed by People's Artist Doan Hoang Giang. Although she was young at that time, she played the role of a quan ba quite successfully. After 3 years working at the Army Cheo Theater, her unique voice and acting style caught the attention of the Hanoi Cheo Theater. In 1994, she was transferred to work at the Hanoi Cheo Theater, continuing to contribute her talent. She is often assigned to play roles with rich personality, such as the role of Sung Ba in the play "Quan Am Thi Kinh", the role of Quy Cai in the play "Truong Vien", the role of a high-ranking official's wife in the play "Cao Ba Quat", ... leaving a deep impression on the audience.

With a desire to learn and a serious attitude towards her artistic work, artist Thanh Loan always listens to the profound comments from teachers, seniors, and colleagues, so she progresses quickly. She confided that when she first entered the profession, she liked to play roles with personality, so she always paid attention to researching and understanding the content of the play and the character's personality very carefully, so she completed every task excellently. In 2012, Thanh Loan won 2 Gold Medals, 1 Gold Medal for the role of Mrs. Phao in the play "The Story of a Missing Person" at the National Professional Cheo Theatre Festival held in Thai Binh, and 1 Gold Medal at the First Comedy Theatre Festival in Quang Ninh. A worthy reward for artist Thanh Loan's contributions was that she was awarded the title of Meritorious Artist in 2012.

Artists from Quy Lang Cheo village perform in front of Gam pagoda. Photo: Tran Hai

For Artist Thanh Loan, the most memorable moments in her career are her two performances in Truong Sa. The first time was in 1991, when she was only 20 years old, and the second time was in 2009. Artist Thanh Loan recalled that, although she was tired and seasick after days on the boat to the island, the enthusiastic welcome of the naval officers and soldiers made her tiredness disappear, making her perform with great enthusiasm. “It was an honor and sacred. Every performance on the island was full of emotions. The first performance was the song “Gian ma thuong”, a folk song from Nghe-Tinh, and the cheo plays were well received and highly appreciated by the soldiers on the island.”

Although Thanh Loan studied and performed mainly Cheo, as a native of Nghe An, growing up listening to Vi Dam songs, folk songs have become part of her blood. She has performed folk songs quite successfully. Up to now, she has recorded a number of CDs about Nghe folk songs.

Talking about Lang Thanh ancient Cheo, Meritorious Artist Thanh Loan pondered: “In the past, there were many people in the countryside who sang Cheo very well. Now, those people are old and weak. The young generation today is less interested in Cheo. In recent years, the local government and the elderly have done many practical things to restore the Cheo village; teach it to the younger generation. Hopefully, with the attention of the locality, Lang Thanh Cheo village will revive…

Xuan Hoang