Cai Luong Artist Bach Tuyet Features In Forbes’ 50 Over 50: Asia 2024

Forbes Magazine has named People’s Artist Bach Tuyet, a cai luong (reformed opera) performer, on its 50 Over 50: Asia 2023 list.
January 25, 2024 | 12:42

According to Forbes, Nguyen Thi Bach Tuyet is a household name in Vietnam who is best known for "Cai Luong" - a modern form of traditional opera.

She earned a Ph.D. in Art in 1995 and was recognized as a People's Artist, Vietnam’s highest recognition for people in the entertainment industry, in her 60s.

Cai Luong Artist Bach Tuyet Features In Forbes’ 50 Over 50: Asia 2024
According to Forbes, Nguyen Thi Bach Tuyet is a household name in Vietnam who is best known for "Cai Luong" - a modern form of traditional opera. Photo: Vietnamnews

Tuyet went on to win the TikTok Awards Vietnam in Music of the Year in 2022 for "Ve Nghe Me Ru” (Coming home to listen to Mommy's Lullaby).

“Her collaborations with contemporary art forms such as hip-hop have generated nearly 20 million views, and she is now working on a 2024 game show,” the magazine added.

The women of the third annual 50 Over 50: Asia list hail from 14 countries and territories and more than two dozen sectors of work. They're exerting their influence on fashion, pharma, finance, and beyond—and they're doing so at 54, 68, and even 112. Here are the 50 founders, CEOs, and innovators across Asia-Pacific proving that the years after 50 are the new golden age.

About artist Bach Tuyet, a precious gem of Cai Luong

Bach Tuyet was born in Long Xuyen City, a land with many peaceful canals in An Giang Province. While at school, she showed her aptitude for singing and often performed at artistic nights of the schools.

Like her peers, she admired artist Thanh Nga, a well-known Cai Luong singer in the south. During a meeting, artist Thanh Nga said that Bach Tuyet had a talent for singing Cai luong songs, which was the motivation to make her involved in a theatrical career.

Cai Luong Artist Bach Tuyet Features In Forbes’ 50 Over 50: Asia 2024
People’s Artist Bach Tuyet was listed by Forbes as one of Asia's most powerful women over 50. Photo: Facebook

After only two years involved on the professional stage, in 1963, Bach Tuyet won the Thanh Tam Award for a promising actress. A year later, she moved to work for the Da Ly Huong ensemble where her talent was more and more confirmed thanks to her cooperation with reputed script writers Ha Trieu and Hoa Phuong. In 1965, with the play “Tan Nuong” she won the Thanh Tam Award’s gold prize for the best actress. Once, after watching Tuyet’s performance in “Xe cat bien dong” at Quoc Thanh Theatre, scriptwriter Hoa Phuong said to scriptwriter Kien Giang: “Bach Tuyet is a Cai Luong Chi Bao (a precious gem of Cai Luong), with special creativeness and intelligence. She can progress much further if she plays more difficult roles.” He had not expected that he “unintentionally” represented the Vietnamese Cai luong lovers to give her a noble title which has been attached to her until today.

In the difficult years of the Cai luong art later, Bach Tuyet together with young directors Nguyen Hong Phuc and Minh Hai, music Ph.D. Quang Hai, People’s Artist-musician Thanh Hai, and People’s Artist-painter Luong Dong researched and experimentally staged the drama “Acting Alone” and the Cai luong item “A Queen of Two Kings (which were performed by only one actor) by author Le Duy Hanh. The two plays won praise from the press and the support of the audience because this group of artists had infused the theatrical art with a breath of fresh air. In 2012, Bach Tuyet was honored to receive the title People’s Artist awarded by the State. This is a worthy reward for an artist who has made great contributions to the art of performed opera in the country.

After over half a century of performing, Cai luong artist Bach Tuyet has participated in 400 plays, playing all kinds of characters. She has not only left good impressions on the public and her colleagues with her sweet, seductive singing voice, her serious working manner, and academic success but has also set a great example of the talent and energy in learning and artistic creation for younger generations of artists today to learn and follow, helping promote the traditional Cai Luong art of the nation.

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