CẢI LUƠNG LEGEND: Meritorious Artist and cải lương star Vũ Linh won the Golden Medal for Best Actor at the Trần Hữu Trang Awards, a national cải lương (reformed opera) singing contest organised by HCM City Theatre Artists’ Association in 1991 and 1995. Photo courtesy of Trần Hữu Trang Cải Lương Theatre)

HCM CITY — Meritorious Artist and cải lương star Vũ Linh died of cancer on March 5 in HCM City. He was 66. His funeral will take place on Thursday, March 9. 

Linh, whose real name was Võ Văn Ngoan, began his professional career at the Đồng Ấu Hoa Troupe in Sài Gòn (now HCM City) in 1972. With his strong voice and rapid improvement in performance skills, he soon became a bright star in cải lương.

In 1988, he worked for Trần Hữu Trang Cải Lương Theatre, one of the region’s leading traditional art troupes. He has performed for several cải lương troupes in HCM City and southern provinces. 

He won 16 top prizes at national theatre festivals and contests, including the Trần Hữu Trang Golden Prize and Mai Vàng (Golden Apricot) Awards for the year’s Best Actor, theatre's biggest honour conferred by the HCM City Theatre Association and Người Lao Động (Labourer) daily newspaper. 

VERSATILE PERFORMER: Cải lương star Vũ Linh staged the new show Sao Nối Ngôi (Young Stars), a TV programme on Vĩnh Long Television offering performances of vọng cổ (nostalgic tunes), cải lương and tuồng (classical drama), traditional theatre genres in the southern and central regions. Photo courtesy of the producer

He has performed in more than 400 videos and TV shows. 

Last year, Linh performed in a TV programme about Vietnamese theatre targeted to young people on Vĩnh Long Television. 

He staged the new show Sao Nối Ngôi (Bright Stars) with performances of vọng cổ (nostalgic tunes), cải lương and tuồng or hát bội (classical drama) - traditional theatre genres from the southern and central regions. 

He performed vọng cổ songs and extracts from historical plays which made his fame in the 1980s and 1990s. 

“I’m getting older and have a serious illness. It is hard for me, even as an experienced artist, to keep doing a TV show with sound and light effects,” said Linh, in an interview with local media before the programme’s launch. “I love working with younger artists, who have devoted all their love and energy to the stage.”

“Linh introduced a true and unique style of cải lương. His devotion to Vietnamese theatre is invaluable,” said People’s Artist and theatre director Trần Ngọc Giàu of the HCM City Theatre Artists’ Association. — VNS