Sharing with Lao Dong reporters, Meritorious Artist Linh Hien said that after about 30 years of working at the Ho Chi Minh City Hat Boi Art Theater and applying for a one-time social insurance withdrawal due to a serious illness, he used it for personal plans.
When I received insurance money once, I got about several hundred million VND. When I got sick, the treatment process at my hospital alone cost nearly 200 million VND. The remaining expenses I took care of my personal life" - the male artist shared.
The male artist said that at the time of health problems, he prioritized immediate treatment costs even though he understood that receiving one-time social insurance meant no longer having a regular pension source.
After a period of treatment, Meritorious Artist Linh Hien's health has stabilized. However, he still has to monitor his condition and maintain examination according to professional instructions.
Currently, after spending the one-time social insurance money, artist Linh Hien aims to train the young generation and perform in some familiar shows. His biggest concern is finding a successor generation to Hat Boi.
For him, the Hat Boi profession faces many difficulties because the number of successful artists is quite small. Faces still attached to Hat Boi such as Thanh Binh, My Kim, Hoang Hoa are approaching the age of 40.
He believes that, in order for Hat Boi to not be "sunk" in the new era, support from many sides is needed. He proposed that: "I hope that agencies and departments in the cultural field need to invest methodically in successor training classes, restore traditional costumes and props, build school stage programs and have policies to treat older artists.
Meritorious Artist Linh Hien's real name is Trinh Cong Danh, born in 1965. He comes from a family with four generations attached to Hat Boi and started performing from about 7-8 years old.
At the age of 14, he attended the Hat Boi class taught by artists Dinh Bang Phi, Thanh Ton, Chau Ky, Nam Do. The roles mentioned in his career include Trinh An in "General Dao Tam Xuan", Tiet Quy in "Tiet Giao đoạt ngọc" and Loi La Ho in "Ngu bien bao phu cuu".
In 1984, Linh Hien switched to performing cai luong. About 10 years later, he returned to hat boi, operating at the Ho Chi Minh City Hat Boi Art Theater in many roles such as actor, director and craft successor.
He won a Silver Medal at the Professional Stage Festival in 1995 with the play "Chất ngọc không tan"; Silver Medal in the period 1999-2000 with "Tiếng hát nàng Huyền Cơ"; Gold Medal in 2005 with "Lửa thiêng". He was awarded the title of Meritorious Artist in 2007.
In 2005, Meritorious Artist Linh Hien was assigned by the Board of Directors of the Ho Chi Minh City Hat Boi Art Theater to participate in training successor forces. Besides performing, he continued to participate in staging and teaching the profession to young artists.
Looking back at his work process, Meritorious Artist Linh Hien said that the roles, professional experience and trained students are assets he left behind after many years of being attached to Hat Boi.
