People's Artist An Ninh is the husband of People's Artist Hong Luu, and he considers himself a solid supporter for his wife to shine, so he retreats behind the scenes to write. However, this "weakness" gives him endless passion and interest. To date, he has a legacy of more than 40 adapted plays and hundreds of suites, short pieces, solos, and duets. Among them, there are dozens of plays that have won Gold Medals at national folk music and drama festivals such as: Race in the Dark, Teacher and Student, Words of People, Words of the Country, One Tree Cannot Make a Mountain...
People's Artist An Ninh believes that to have a good adaptation, or a folk song that contains enough feelings of the writer as well as the performer, the author needs to have a deep enough cultural background, the ability to write fluently, especially the love of the folk songs, the folk tunes. For An Ninh, the person with the mission of spreading folk songs must find a way to convey it to all audiences, so that everyone can sing it, can immerse themselves in the folk songs of their homeland when sad, when happy, when suffering or when joyful.
When he vowed to be the one behind the scenes, the light that shines for other artists to shine, People's Artist An Ninh thought that Vi and Giam not only needed stage artists but also needed teams behind those bright lights, to create a team for Vi and Giam, helping it convey profound, simple, yet noble values.
Que Thuong has had a beautiful voice since childhood and has had a passion for standing on stage since then. She has a solid list of achievements with 3 Gold Medals and many Silver Medals along with the title of Outstanding Artist awarded by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2022. However, few people know that in addition to her own efforts and natural talents, to achieve today's achievements, Que Thuong has received great support from her husband and his family.
During her time at the National Academy of Music to get a degree in vocal music with distinction, Que Thuong already had two children, one aged 5 and the other 3. To help her feel secure in studying, her husband and her family always encouraged and supported her as much as possible. There were times when the child was sick, her husband's family hid it; there were times when her husband was struggling with two small children and building a house, but he was determined not to let her be distracted.
Que Thuong shared: To make me feel secure, every week when I was too busy to come back, he would come right away. And there were times when he appeared unexpectedly, making me extremely happy. That was when he called to say that he couldn't come back this week but "had a surprise gift for you, come down to the lobby to get it". I ran down to the lobby of the Academy and saw him standing there, smiling brightly. Perhaps that was the most precious gift I received from him.
Taking his first steps into the profession at the age of 20, he vowed to try his best to stand on stage. Entering the Provincial Traditional Arts Center in 2005, Meritorious Artist Thien Hue was considered an actor with a natural talent for folk songs.
However, Meritorious Artist Thien Hue had a very difficult time to be given important roles, when she was kicked off the stage many times because she sang out of tune, did not get into character... Overcoming all, she got the main roles with the recognition of the Board of Directors and the Art Council of professional festivals nationwide. Those are Huong Ly in "Duong Rac Trong Banh" (National Gold Medal of the National Professional Tuong and Folk Drama Festival, 2016); Le Quoc Phu Nhan in Cuong Quoc Cong Nguyen Xi (Gold Medal in 2019); Linh in "Mot Cay Lam Khong Canh Nu" (Silver Medal in 2010)... All of those things, according to Thien Hue, are hard work, learning and above all, pure and loyal love for folk songs.
Thien Hue said: My father told me when I first started my career: "Surely the stage is not an easy profession, and since you have chosen it, you must cultivate it." That advice has followed me through both glorious and difficult times, both when I was just starting out and when I became a seasoned actor at the Provincial Traditional Arts Center.