People's Artist Hoang Quynh Mai
The 2025 National Tuong and Folk Opera Festival ended with a strong impression named after People's Artist Hoang Quynh Mai - the only female director to be awarded the Outstanding Director Award.
The play Phien Ngung Fire, which she directed for the National Traditional Theatre, won the Gold Medal, while Cung Phi Diem Bich ( Hue Opera and Drama Theatre) won the Silver Medal. These two results helped her affirm her position as a talented director who has persistently devoted herself to traditional arts for a decade.
Hoang Quynh Mai: From Cai Luong to Tuong, a challenging turn
Having become famous from the Cai Luong stage, Hoang Quynh Mai surprised everyone when in 2013 she moved to Hue opera with "Sang thanh nhu ngoc mot con nguoi" - a work about General Nguyen Chi Thanh. In 2019, she continued to take the risk of staging "Trung Than" (author Hoa Ha) for the Vietnam Tuong Theater and was praised by the late Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Tri Trac.
Although she won the Silver Medal, for her, it was a milestone that paved the way for her journey to conquer the "tuong mountain". She admitted: "I became famous from Cai Luong, so when I did Tuong and Cheo, I was very... scared. And it was the message from my father-in-law, Bac Ninh Tuong artist Nguyen Huu Bang, "I hope you will direct Tuong", that became the motivation for me to spend three years persistently learning the profession, researching Northern Tuong - Southern Tuong, learning the spirit and conventions of this traditional art to commit, to overcome my own limitations".
The work "Fire burning in Phien Nung" by People's Artist Hoang Quynh Mai
In 2022, she staged "Three Lords" (Silver Medal) and "The Holy King of the Le Dynasty" (B Prize - Vietnam Stage Artists Association), gradually proving the mettle of a female director in an artistic land that is considered "harsh".
Creative aspiration and philosophy "The 13-fruit moon is still green"
Even though she is a People's Artist, standing at the pinnacle of her profession, Hoang Quynh Mai always reminds herself not to be complacent: "The 13th moon is still green. When doing art, you have to learn from the beginning with each work" - she said. It is this spirit of continuous learning that helps her shape her staging style: combining epic elements with modern aesthetic structures, respecting traditional conventions but renewing the stage language with movement, light, rhythm and subtle expression.
These days, she is anxious to find young talents of traditional theater to pass on the profession and valuable lessons. She said if she does not take care of it now, when she starts to get old, there will be no young generation to succeed her.
"Fire in Phien Nung" is both full of Tuong and very contemporary.
From a girl who loves literature to a "stage charm" is the conclusion of Hoang Quynh Mai herself. Born in 1968 in Tien Dien ( Ha Tinh ), she was a student majoring in Literature, won the first prize in Literature in Nghe Tinh province and dreamed of becoming a journalist. Missing the entrance exam to the Faculty of Journalism by only half a point, she turned to stage and cinema.
Her teacher, the late People's Artist Hoang Su, once warned her: "The directing profession is very hard, not suitable for women." But she was still determined to study directing and shined with her graduation play "Legend of a Love" (2007). Hoang Quynh Mai's name really rose when she staged "Palace Princess Diem Bich", winning first prize in the 2007 Stage Director Talent Competition.
The work "Palace Concubine Diem Bich" by People's Artist Hoang Quynh Mai
Since then, she has become one of the most sought-after directors, leaving her mark in many genres: reformed opera, classical opera, cheo, drama, folk opera. Recognition from the profession.
Right after the closing night of the 2025 Festival, President of the Vietnam Stage Artists Association, People's Artist Trinh Thuy Mui called Hoang Quynh Mai: "The number 1 female director of the Vietnamese stage industry". She shared on her personal page: "Mai is slim but persistent. She faltered and then stood up again, creating and contributing. In front of the jury of all People's Artists, she exploded and raised the gold cup high. The Vietnamese stage really needs talented directors like Hoang Quynh Mai".
Hoang Quynh Mai works selflessly because she wants to be renewed.
These days, when meeting Hoang Quynh Mai, she said she was engrossed in reviewing clips from the recent 6th International Experimental Theatre Festival - 2025. Because of the parallel organization of two festivals, she could not return to Ninh Binh to watch them, and the purpose of reviewing them was to learn and gain experience.
Hoang Quynh Mai said that she was "enchanted by the stage", every time she did a new play she ate and slept on the rehearsal floor, exhausted but very happy. She always had her husband and family by her side, supporting her wholeheartedly.
The Outstanding Director Award at the 2025 National Tuong and Folk Opera Festival honored her career, but it was a milestone that demonstrated the mettle of a woman who had overcome gender barriers and her own limits to conquer the challenging field of Tuong.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/nsnd-hoang-quynh-mai-voi-hanh-trinh-10-nam-chinh-phuc-dinh-cao-nghe-thuat-tuong-196251207100101601.htm
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