To sing is to see through
The theme of this performance is “To be sung is to be seen”. The Huy shared his cherished idea: In professional classes, teachers often ask: “How do you feel?” -How are you feeling today?After singing a sentence, a paragraph or a song, the teacher asks again:"How do you feel after singing?"The Huy often told his teacher:"I feel a little tired today, I'm afraid I won't sing well"But after singing, the teacher asked again and he realized:"Oh, I feel like I'm getting into character more now.". The teacher's question helped him understand that: "Opera is not just music, but also the art of character and story.".
Opera is not just music, but also the art of character and story.
Indeed, opera is an art form that combines theater and music. An opera usually involves solo singers, choirs, orchestras, and ballet performances, as well as actors. The opera universe is not only about magnificent melodies or skillful singing techniques, but also a mirror reflecting all aspects of human life, from tragedy, comedy, to deep inner conflicts. Each character in opera is a miniature emotional world, where the artist needs to work long-term on expertise and deepen life experiences to be able to transform and convey.
Opera artist The Huy
The opera universe is not only about magnificent melodies or skillful singing techniques, but also a mirror reflecting the many aspects of human life.
“When I play a villain, I use my experience to analyze the character: Why do they have such mentality and actions? I ask myself, have I ever experienced a similar situation? If not, I will imagine, if I have, I will remember my feelings and reactions at that time. Those experiences help me portray the character more realistically." - The Huy shared.
10-year journey of pursuing classical music and opera vocals of young opera artist The Huy
This makes The Huy think of a line in the movie Avatar: "I see you". Here, "see"not just seeing but also being"feel” - a deep sense of the inner person, combined together is “see through”. For him, singing is to see through himself and everything in life.
Each opera excerpt selected for performance takes the audience on a colorful journey, discovering the richness and sophistication of melody in Mozart's comedy and tragedy, meeting ambitious characters with the rolling, fiery music of Verdi's music, enjoying Italian romance through the deep, emotional passages of Donizetti & Cimarosa, immersing in the burning desire for love in each majestic melody in the world of Gounod & Lehár... Each aria (a solo piece of music for the voice in an opera) is like a door to enter a new world, where each audience member will surely find a little corner of their own inner self. When the character's smile, tears, or loneliness suddenly transform into the feelings of the audience's own soul.
When I listened to “E lucevan le stelle” written by Giacomo Puccini, excerpted from “Tosca” at the end of the performance, I suddenly burst into tears. The character Cavaradossi that Thế Huy was playing was a painter who was going through torment when he was sentenced to death. It was the night before his execution, he remembered the moment with his lover Tosca: “The stars were shining, and your fragrance… Now… I die in despair!”. The moment Thế Huy collapsed on the stage floor while the sorrowful melody of a love that was extinguished soared deeply touched my soul unconsciously, even though I could not understand the lyrics. It seemed that Thế Huy had done his mission very well - not to force the audience to like opera as he passionately did, but to help them “see through” the characters and the stories.
Journey of the Mind
During his time studying abroad in Australia, Thế Huy lived in a very beautiful neighborhood. Sometimes he missed home and Vietnam, but the natural landscape around the house helped him calm his emotions. When he was stressed or lost, he often went to the sea and trees to help his mind empty, allowing his strong emotions to calm themselves.
It was his own conclusions that helped The Huy make progress in his career.
Sometimes, he goes to the beach just to lie there, not thinking about anything, to let his mind truly rest. He said that when someone asked: "As a singer, what music do you listen to when you're stressed?". He just smiled: "During my most stressful times, I don't listen to music."For musicians, sometimes relaxation is not listening but silence because silence is also a form of music. It is when the mind is free to travel where it wants.
I really love the quote by composer Beethoven: "Behind the music, there is still music”. In a concert, when the last note sounds, the space falls into silence. That moment is still music, but it resonates in everyone's mind. The work4 minutes 33 secondsJohn Cage's piece demonstrates this clearly. The artist walks onto the stage, sits at the piano but does not play a single note. The music here is silence, where the audience hears sounds from the surrounding space: the sound of chairs moving, coughs, rustling papers. If this piece is placed in an open environment, the sounds of life also become a part of it. That is what made him realize that, if you know how to listen, ordinary sounds can also become music. Music is not only in symphonies but is present everywhere.
Each character in opera is a miniature world of emotions.
When looking for inspiration, he actively listens to music. But normally, he doesn't necessarily have to listen because music is always around him. When listening to a piece of music, he not only enjoys it but also unconsciously analyzes the structure and harmony like a natural reflex. Sometimes, he hums unconsciously.
An opera performance is a serious process that requires the opera artist to undergo a rigorous training process. That is the difference between improvisation and expertise. At this time, he wandered in his mind in a very unique way. He said: “Images flash through my mind every now and then. It's a mix of the original work and the image of myself - the version I want to be when I perform that song.".
When The Huy stands on stage and sings, we can easily see that opera is for him and he was born to belong to opera.
An interesting thing about opera is that each type of voice is often associated with a specific personality type. For example, soprano voices are often associated with the image of princesses or sharp, shrewish mistresses. The Huy’s tenor voice often appears in the male lead roles of handsome, romantic guys, loved at first sight. He sees many versions of himself through each role.
There was a role he played with two opera singers Linh Tran and Mai Vy that made the audience laugh out loud. That was the character Paolino – a young, hot-tempered but kind-hearted man in love – in the play “Il matrimonio segreto” by Domenico Cimarosa. Paolino laments his sudden illness, causing the young Carolina and the ridiculous lady Fidalma to worry and suspect him of faking it, creating a chaotic atmosphere. The drama gradually increases as the three argue back and forth in a fast-paced, overlapping melody, expressing the confusion and excessive tension in the fight for love.
To sing is to see through
Thế Huy travels between his own imagination and the imagination of talented composers, transforming into many such characters, from the guy Paolino in the tragic love triangle, to the noble Sou-Chong in the play Das Land des Lächelns (author Franz Lehár) full of pride and pain when forced to break up with Lisa to marry a Chinese princess, to the young man Sesto caught between his loyalty to Emperor Tito and his passionate love for Vitellia in Mozart's La clemenza di Tito... Each of those roles is like a place in Thế Huy's mind.
He shared that he also spent a lot of time traveling through the pages of books. Because Thế Huy has never set foot in Europe, but most of the works he sings are in French, German, and Italian. So how can he truly “see through” and blend into those cultures through his roles? Currently, Thế Huy studies them through previous generations of artists and famous composers. Mozart was born in Austria, his life was associated with trips and changes. Chopin was born in Poland, but lived and composed in many other places. Not only learning through books, he also tries to understand the culture associated with each language.
While the French are often dreamy, the Germans are serious and tough, Italian is more romantic and emotional. An interesting point about Italian is that words often end in vowels, creating a seamless and lively feeling. Each language has its own culture and to express the true spirit of music, you need to deeply understand each culture.
Believe in the path you take
Looking at the cross-pollination between European and Asian art, we can be confident that classical music will never die. Classic works will always exist thanks to their content and artistic value.
For The Huy, opera is the path he will follow.
Opera, although classical, is not confined. Today, theaters continue to innovate to innovate opera. The artists themselves are also creative in their own way, putting their personal stamp on their roles. It is their individuality that makes the difference compared to what is already available. Even the world's major theaters have their own way of expressing themselves when staging a play. The same work, but one theater can stage it in a Japanese setting, another in an Indian or Western style. Therefore, a Vietnamese opera artist can completely trust in the long road ahead.
Famous opera artists in the world are often trained from a young age because classical music not only requires talent, but also perseverance, adaptability, and the ability to absorb new things. Exactly one year ago, Thế Huy was still on the journey to determine his direction. At the present time, after the 10-year milestone, he not only considers opera as a passion, but also a career. With opera, Thế Huy has revealed clear potential. Not only does he sing well, he also has a very natural acting ability. It is his self-conclusion and response to life events through journeys in his mind, in the opera universe, that has helped Thế Huy make progress in his career.
Every day, Huy sets a goal to improve more than yesterday. The Huy always wants to travel more, admires the artists who perform all over the world. A professional artist can plan a whole year's schedule, knowing in January where to perform in December. He hopes to have a schedule like that one day, in a different country each month, even going to many countries in one month.
The last thing we agreed on in this conversation was that although opera requires high performance techniques, careful calculation and rigorous training, opera artists also need to maintain pure love. If everything is measured too carefully, calculated too much, the beauty of art will not be able to flourish. There are things that come naturally, naively, but it is that simplicity that creates the most beautiful things.
