Hong Van (Singer)

For the comedienne, see Hong Van (Comedienne).


Hong Van (1950-    ) is a Vietnamese singer most famous for her musical recitals of Vietnamese poetry known as Ngâm Thơ.  

She was born in 1950 in the imperial city of Hue, Central Vietnam to a family of Vietnamese royalty.  Her parents divorced shortly after Hong Van was born and her mother took her to live with her maternal grandparents in Quang Ngai.  Married at 18, Hong Van would resettle in Saigon with her husband a year later.  While in Saigon, she became a mother at age 19 and attended the University of Saigon, School of Literature for two years.  It was at the University of Saigon where she would meet two friends, Tuyet Hang and Thu Ha, who shared her interest in music and recitals of Vietnamese poetry.  Together they formed the singing trio, Đông Phương.  Their performances of traditional folk music of all three regions of Vietnam known as Dân Ca Ba Miền made the trio quite popular with audiences.   In a short period of time, the Đông Phương trio led by Hong Van were performing at shows throughout various cities of South Vietnam.  They landed themselves a recording a recording contract with Continental, South Vietnam's most prolific record label, and became headliners at Saigon's most prestigious cabarets and venues such as Đêm Màu Hồng, Queen Bee and Maxim's.  In addition to folk music and musical recitals of Vietnamese poetry, Hong Van also sings in other genres of Vietnamese music such as Nhạc Tiền Chiến (Vietnamese Pre-War Music), Nhạc Trữ Tình (Vietnamese Love Songs) and songs written by legendary composer Trinh Cong Son.  In 1974, Hong Van had a small part as the narrator in the comedy feature film, Năm Vua Hề Về Làng, which featured an all-star cast including Thanh Nga, Tham Thuy Hang, Thanh Duoc, Thanh Mai, La Thoai Tan, Bao Quoc, Phuong Hong Ngoc and Bang Chau.  Unfortunately, her busy schedule as an entertainer took its toll in her private life causing her marriage to end in divorce in the early 1970s.  

After the Fall of Saigon, Hong Van continued to forge ahead with her singing career collaborating with various singing troupes such as Bông Sen, Bông Hồng and Hương Miền Nam.  In 1988, she toured Europe with a gala of other Vietnamese artists including singer Hoa Mi, who defected after a performance in Paris, France and was granted political asylum by the French government.  In 2004, one of Hong Van's dreams came true as she was cast as the lead actress portraying Dowager Empress Thái Hậu Từ Cung in the highly rated television mini-series, Ngọn Nến Hoàng Cung, costarring Truong Ngoc Anh.  

Thanh Thuy and Hong Van in the musical play, Đá Trông Chồng,
at the Hoa Binh Venue in Ho Chi Minh City (2014) 

Now in her sixties, Hong Van continues to perform nightly as a headliner at cabarets in Ho Chi Minh City like Tiếng Xưa and Ân Nam.  In 2014, she was cast in a supporting role in the critically acclaimed musical play, Đá Trông Chồng, at the Hoa Binh Venue in Ho Chi Minh City which starred actress/singer Thanh Thuy.  Hong Van has been honored with the title of Nghệ Sĩ Ưu Tú (Meritorious Artist) by the Vietnamese government.  She is best friends with fellow Vietnamese singer Lan Ngoc.