Artist Kim Tu Long is a veteran of the Cai Luong stage. In addition, he also plays the role of MC, director, and trainer of the younger generation... Although he has been involved in the stage for more than 4 decades, he is still passionate about his career.
“I always think of myself as a young artist, wanting to sing, have good roles and stand on stage to perform for the audience,” he confided.
In "The Story of the Night with the Stars", artist Kim Tu Long said that throughout his career, he has transformed into many different characters. However, the role of Luc Van Tien in the play Kieu Nguyet Nga left the deepest impression and was an important milestone in his career.
He said that this was not only a role but also a message from his teacher - the late People's Artist Phung Ha, whom he often called Ma Bay. People's Artist Phung Ha was not only his teacher but also the person who gave him the name "Kim Tu Long" with profound meaning.
When the female artist gave him his stage name, Kim Tu Long went home and asked his father about the deep meaning of the name: "Kim means gold, Long means dragon, and Tu means child. Fatherly love, motherly love. Mother Bay wants me to be a golden dragon, flying high in the art world" - he recounted.
With the young generation of artists, artist Kim Tu Long appreciates the talent and efforts of the young generation when choosing to pursue the art of reformed opera in the tempting 4.0 era.
However, he also shared his concern about the lack of proper training for young people: “Young people today are very talented and they make a great effort, daring to give up all temptations and all other arts to follow the path of reformed theater.
That's what I admire and respect you guys so much. But you lack training. Training through formal training is one thing, but practicing it is the main thing. You guys just sing by instinct."
Artist Kim Tu Long shares an insightful perspective on the differences in the training process of Cai Luong actors between generations. He believes that the previous generation is trained more systematically, has more time to practice and absorb the essence of the art.
Meanwhile, today's young generation often learns seasonally, focusing on each role in a short period of time, leading to a lack of experience and experience to perfect the role.
“In the past, we had to rehearse a play for at least 4 to 5 months before performing it. Now, we have to finish a play in a week or 10 days, so how can we memorize the lyrics and understand the psychology and experience the role on stage?” he said.
To overcome this situation, artist Kim Tu Long always keeps in mind to convey the valuable experiences that he has accumulated throughout his career. He confided: “I convey to you the experiences I have gained after 40 years of harvesting. When I speak, I only speak from my heart to you, only focus on the role and convey my experience in that play.”
