People's Artist Thanh Hoa's life after a serious illness at the age of U80
After surgery on one breast, at the age of nearly 80, People's Artist Thanh Hoa still regularly steps onto the stage.
Sharing with VietNamNet reporter, People's Artist Thanh Hoa said she no longer desires to seek the spotlight or applause from the audience like in her brilliant youth, but sings as a sincere and profound thank you to the audience who have followed her for more than half a century.
"I sing not to be famous but to thank the audience. After 60 years, they still know who I am. Thinking of the audience, I feel a fire burning in my heart," People's Artist Thanh Hoa shared.
With a warm voice, People's Artist Thanh Hoa recounted her journey of nearly 60 years with the Voice of Vietnam. During her journey, she recorded nearly 1,000 songs, including more than 400 solo songs that were broadcast regularly every week. In just 34 years of official work, she had an average of 1 new song per week. This is a dream number for any artist. But what makes People's Artist Thanh Hoa proud is not the quantity but the places she has visited to sing.
"From soldiers, police, teachers, farmers, welders, miners, doctors... it seems like I have sung for every profession," People's Artist Thanh Hoa confided.
Trips along Truong Son, performances in the forest, on islands, and remote areas are experiences that have shaped the "artist-soldier" quality in her.
"I call myself a singing warrior - a simple but proud definition. I have been to Meo Vac, Cong Troi (Ha Giang), and seen images of children enduring the bitter cold in the mountains and forests. Once, I was sitting in a car and still shivering, but people still had to soak themselves in the water to harvest rice. Those images have stayed with me all my life and I sing with all that I feel from them," she confided.
RecordingMy train goes through the mountainsIt is also a keepsake that she treasures. Every time she sings, so many memories come back, both happy days and private sad notes. Her first husband, musician Phan Lac Hoa, is the author of that song.
People's Artist Thanh Hoa said that at this age, she no longer hopes to be praised or recognized as a star. She sings out of the responsibility of someone who is loved and recognized: "As long as the audience still remembers and waits for me, I will continue to sing."
There were times when she felt pressured and lonely, and she thought about leaving the spotlight. But the flame of art never went out: "It still burns in me with passion, responsibility, and the love of the audience." Even though she had a fever of 39 degrees because her child was sick and had to be hospitalized, she still went on stage because "the tickets were sold, so she couldn't not sing," People's Artist Thanh Hoa shared in the program.Connecting melody.There was a time when she sang and cried because her heart was burning, she loved her child but that was her job, her love.
As an artist, a mother, and sometimes a father, she understands the loneliness behind the stage. "Sometimes on New Year's Eve, when people gather, I still sing at the lake. I used to wonder why I was so strong, daring to sing with all my inner strength off stage, but when I returned home, I was alone taking care of my children, worrying about every meal, every medicine," she said.
People's Artist Thanh Hoa said that the private lives of artists have low notes. The husbands of famous artists often find it difficult to accept life without their wives. They need to be loved and cared for, but the wives go to sing, returning home at midnight with a tired body. If they are not in the same profession and do not understand, it is difficult to accompany. And she hopes the public will understand that behind every moment of sublimation on stage are silent sacrifices, not necessarily "rouge lips and rouge" artists whose marriages often fail.
Looking back on her journey, People's Artist Thanh Hoa admitted that there was a time when she thought she was wrong to let her whole family pursue a singing career. But now, she considers it a predestined fate. Her second husband - Meritorious Artist Ton That Loi is a circus performer. Her son and grandson also pursue a performing career. She is proud that three generations of her family stand on stage together, passing on their artistic passion to the audience.
For People's Artist Thanh Hoa, artists are not just performers but companions of all classes of people: "For our generation, People's Artists like Thu Hien, Quang Tho, Trung Duc, I think there should be an additional word to complete the title, that is 'artist of the people' is enough".