Meeting artist Bach Long at his rented house filled with his professional memorabilia, many memories of the glorious days of Southern reformed theater came flooding back.

Bach Long is considered a person who devoted his whole life to "preserving reformed opera". In 1990, he founded Dong Au theater with the desire to become a "leading bird" to protect artists pursuing reformed opera. However, after a few years of development, unexpected storms arose and Dong Au closed down.

Temporarily putting aside his ambition for reformed opera, Bach Long became involved in drama at the Idecaf stage. Here, he was loved by many audiences with the roles of Lulu the Dog, the Scorpion King in "Once upon a time"...

Over the years, Bach Long has been working diligently in both the reformed opera and the theater. It was thought that after so much effort and sacrifice, the male artist would have a comfortable and prosperous life in his old age. Ironically, even though he is in his 70s, he still rents a house, rides a motorbike and eats out every day...

"I don't gamble or drink, but I won't have any money left over when I'm old."

Having devoted his whole life to art, Bach Long still faces poverty and hardship in his old age. Has he ever felt sad about his fate?

- It's strange to think about! Bach Long was once famous and made as much money as anyone else, but in the end he was still poor. I don't gamble or drink, I only know how to focus on my career all my life, but when I'm old, I don't have a penny left (laughs). But that's it, I learned to accept and think that my fate is like that, so I have long since stopped blaming life.

How does Bach Long make ends meet with his current meager salary?

- Theater and reformed opera activities are increasingly limited. There are months when I only perform one show, so where does the money come from? If I'm lucky enough to participate in a game show, I have a little extra. With my current salary, I use it to pay for housing (5-6 million/month), food for 3 meals... "Tidying" to "have enough to eat and wear", when I'm in need, the sisters will help.

People have money to protect themselves, but I don't plan anything, just leave life to chance. I just hope I don't get sick because it will be a bother to everyone around me. Many times I pray to God to let me die peacefully in my sleep without getting sick or ill.

I don't want to live long. I even want to die before I'm 70 so that people will still remember me.

When mentioning Bach Long, the audience remembers the image of "riding a motorbike, living in a rented house" and sympathizes with his situation. However, is he comfortable being "sympathized" in this way?

- I think my current life is fine, although it lacks a bit, my spirit is always comfortable. I do not demand wealth or luxury. I myself feel satisfied with what I have. I am used to being simple and rustic, not competing like other people.

Many people think that Bach Long is so famous that he must be very rich, so when they see me renting a house and riding a motorbike, they... don't believe it. They probably think I'm acting and complaining (laughs).

Not a "big house" or a "fancy car", what is Bach Long's biggest asset right now?

- To be honest, I have nothing. If I have anything, it's my spiritual "assets" like my plays or my successful students...

Some artists often adopt students so they have someone to be by their side when they are old, why not Bach Long?

- There are also students who want to stay with me to take care of me in my old age because they see me living alone. However, I refuse because I don't want to take advantage of or bother anyone. I teach because of my passion and don't ask anyone to repay me.

My students still have family responsibilities and the burden of making ends meet, and they don't have much to spare. I know that even if I die, my students won't abandon me, but I want them to take care of their parents and children first.

I see many artists adopting children, but honestly, do they care enough and love that child? I can't even take care of myself, how can I dare adopt someone?

Besides art and theater, who is Bach Long friends with?

- I don't have any friends (laughs). This job is also very strange, people "choose their friends" so I think living alone is better. There are people who like to hang out with me but I'm shy because "when you give away the cake, the cake will come back".

If someone treats you to a meal, you have to return the favor. I know my finances aren't enough to "go back and forth" like that, so I do it alone (laughs). Occasionally, when I have extra income, I invite my students out to eat.

On stage, I am surrounded by colleagues, but at home I like to live alone. Don't think I'm lonely, there are many people around me who love me. I am happy and satisfied with my current life!

If you wrote a book about your life, what would it say?

- I see my life as a movie because I have experienced many unfortunate events. Since I was a baby, my parents gave me away because I was difficult to raise. My entire childhood was not close to my blood relatives even though we saw each other every day. The day my adoptive mother passed away, I still had to smile on stage to fulfill my acting career.

The day Dong Au Bach Long closed, I went from being a famous cai luong group leader to being in dire straits, selling every single item to have money to eat. I escaped hunger thanks to my affinity with the theater, but poverty has persisted for decades.

My colleagues at the same time, some had wealthy families, some had "food and property", but in my 60 years of life, I spent nearly 40 years living in a communal house, the remaining 20 years in a rented house...

So I worked alone for many years, considering the stage as my "heart and soul". However, I still smiled and lived happily for many years...

"All my life I have done nothing but art"

Having been attached to Cai Luong all your life, how do you feel about the "rise" and "decline" of this art form?

- I remember in the 70s, Cai Luong was very popular. At that time, there were more than a dozen art troupes. An artist could perform at 2-3 venues each night, and audiences flocked to see it. Cai Luong at that time was like spiritual food for the people.

In the late 80s, cải lương showed signs of slowing down as people were more interested in cinemas (old-time cinemas - PV) than in watching cải lương. In the following years, many other forms of entertainment began to appear such as dance clubs (today's dance halls - PV), television... so cải lương gradually lost its audience. The initial stage capacity of 1,000 audiences gradually shrank to 800, 400, 200... people.

When cai luong was showing signs of decline, Bach Long decided to establish Dong Au theater. This risk seemed to have contributed to his subsequent poverty?

- In 1990, I gathered all my savings to establish Dong Au. At first, the theater operated stably, but in 1996, an incident occurred and forced it to close. That was also the darkest period of my career. The hardship and poverty made me think about suicide.

But my life is very strange! When death was near, an old woman appeared and warned me: "Don't think about death. Your life is not more miserable than mine. You still have a future ahead of you."

After that, she sat down and told me about the bitterness of her life, I woke up and stopped thinking about suicide. Now I consider her as my savior.

Despite the incident, Bach Long still did not give up his ambition for Cai Luong. Besides working on the theater stage, what have you done to help Dong Au "survive" over the past 20 years?

- Although I am active in the theater, I still have the desire to rebuild Dong Au. For many years, I have quietly taught and passed on my experience to young people who are passionate about Cai Luong.

Occasionally, my teacher and I still performed at schools and temples. Dong Au lived a precarious life for many years like that... In 2022, thanks to the support of producer Huynh Anh Tuan, Dong Au was officially "resurrected" and had a stage to perform on.

However, I have to admit that this "revival" was not easy. We still struggled because the stage was losing money every day and the audience was sparse. Every month, Dong Au maintained one show to keep the stage lit, but ticket sales were very difficult.

Trying to endure and preserve but unable to "resist" reality, Bach Long clearly could have chosen to give up and turn to another direction, but why is he still so absorbed in the role of "preserver of reformed opera"?

- Maybe God created me to be an artist, so all my life I have not known how to do anything else but work in the arts. No matter how the stage changes, I still live and die with it.

I really like the "animal conservation" program because thanks to the conservationists, rare animals are not killed. What I do with Dong Au is similar. I put in my efforts with the sole purpose of "keeping the fire burning". I don't know where the future of Cai Luong will go, but whatever, as long as I live, I will contribute.

Frankly speaking, the future of cải lương is very bleak. I just hope cải lương can survive and thrive, but bringing it back to its glory days is unlikely.

In reality, cải lương is no longer a “fertile land” for young artists to make a living. Besides passion, people also have to face “bread and butter”…

- I really admire young people who are passionate about the performing arts. In the golden age of Cai Luong, artists only needed to perform diligently to become well-known. Nowadays, if young artists only perform 2-3 shows a year, how can the audience know them? Even if they are truly talented, they cannot become famous.

Cai luong is no longer a profession for us to make a living. It is just a side job to satisfy our passion. I always tell my students: "Nowadays, sing Cai luong because of passion, don't think about making money from it."

Someone who has been on stage all his life like me, having witnessed its ups and downs, is now "powerless"...

Dong Au has created many talented artists for the stage such as Tu Suong, Trinh Trinh, Vu Luan... At present, how is the connection between them and the "old place"?

- I never force my students to stick with Dong Au. Instead, I let them fly freely to other places to develop. However, my students are very affectionate and filial. Tu Suong, Trinh Trinh or Le Thanh Thao are always behind to support me when I need them.

Dong Au currently has two generations, one is famous artists, the other is young artists who want to pursue the profession. Every time there is a new play, the old students come to both teach and inspire the younger ones.

Thanks for sharing artist Bach Long!

Content: Huynh Quyen
Photo: Nam Anh