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Portrait of the Tuong (classical drama) famous actress Le Sieng |
The Tuong (classical drama) famous actress Le Sieng has just departed this world at the age of 72 after years of fighting against serious illness. With more than two-thirds of life devotion to Tuong, the actress Le Sieng was well-known for her talents and the hard life she led.
Images of Le Sieng still engrave in memories of artists and Tuong fans. She appeared in a loose fitting blouse and a conical hat on her head, her hair tied in bun, at performance places in twilight after a lonely bicycle ride from Nhon My commune. She then hastily changed her clothes and had quick makeup for the performance…
A brilliant “Cinderella” Le Sieng, not a sun-scorched skin farmer any more, appeared on the stage. As velvet curtains closed, she turned back to activites of daily living on fields at Nhon My so that she could afford for her beloved children. Whenever there was contract of performance, message was sent via series of people to Le Sieng at Nhon My; her neighbours or her children then headed towards the field where she was working to inform her: “You gonna perform the play…tonight at…”. Le Sieng would come as the rendezvous. Her golden time was in 1970s and 1980s as she acted with the most well-known actor - Hoang Chinh.
Besides the gifted beautiful voice, Le Sieng was specially talented in acting emotively. She transformed herself into characters of the plays, feeling with all of her heart happiness or pains of the characters. The stage seemingly turned out real life. Trai Ba princess, Dieu Thuyen, Manh Le Quan weren’t characters any more but real persons in real life.
Hoang Viet artist, the youngest son of Meritorious Artist Hoang Chinh, recalled what happened in a performance with “Aunt Sieng”: “She was playing a role of a mother and I was her son. It was time for us to part. Her performance was so emotionally that tears naturally welled up in my eyes as I saw her eyes was full of tears. Audience started to melt into tears. Being so deeply absorbed in the tearful parting, the two of us didn’t realize that it was time to end the scene. At the tormentor, my father (the late artist Hoang Chinh) scowled and scratched his head as signaled for the two of us to leave the stage. ‘Why do the two of you keep on crying! Now all the acts of the play become late because of the two of you!’ ”. After Hoang Chinh left the stage and this life, Le Sieng seemingly found no other matched partner.
At her hometown of Tan Kieu hamlet, Nhon My commune, An Nhon district, Le Sieng quietly bid farewell to people on September 21, 2011, one day before Dao Tan Tuong Theatre was going to organize a death anniversary of Tuong founders and three days before Binh Dinh 7th provincial non-professional Tuong festival was going to start. At such the joyous moment of Tuong circle, the information about Le Sieng’s death quickly spread. All of people felt deeply mourned over her departure of this life.
While writing the words of mourning for the famous actress Le Sieng, I felt deeply regretful as having no picture of her in an act. Visiting all places which used to relate to her, I found no one. I was resigned to disappoint the readers as I couldn’t provide a picture of brilliant Le Sieng on the stage. Instead, I searched thoroughly memories of the audience about Le Sieng’s golden time.
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