In-Depth with
Loving the Silent Tears Star:
Hồ Quỳnh Hương
(Vegan)

Pop star and vegan Hồ Quỳnh Hương
(Âu Lạc) performing “Enlightenment” in
Loving the Silent Tears

To convey the beauty of Supreme Master Ching Hai’s poetic verses and the Aulacese language, one of the top singers in Âu Lạc, Hồ Quỳnh Hương, participated in Loving the Silent Tears to represent the country in the musical.

“It’s like God is bestowing it upon me,” said Hồ Quỳnh Hương. “This is truly a grand production, the grandest that I have ever had the opportunity to be a part of in my life. I am so honored to represent my beautiful country among such great artists and to sing the exquisite poetry of Supreme Master Ching Hai.”

Loving the Silent Tears premiere, celebrating the 19th Anniversary of Supreme Master Ching Hai Day, brought together the best talents, both in the US and international in recognizing the world-renowned humanitarian, spiritual leader, artist and poet through the musical. For the past decades, Supreme Master Ching Hai’s unconditional charitable assistance around the world and artistry has brought honor to her homeland of Âu Lạc. With word of a new musical inspired by her poetry, as well the addition of an Aulacese pop star in the show, the media widely covered the news and interviewed Hồ Quỳnh Hương about the musical extravaganza. This included the largest media in the Aulacese community in Southern California and the US: Little Saigon TV, Saigon Entertainment TV (SET), Saigon TV, Saigon Broadcasting Television Network (SBTN), Vietnamese America TV (VNA), Saigon Radio Hải Ngoại, Người Việt Daily News, Saigon Times, Việt Báo, and overseas, the Australia-based Sunrise Daily Newspaper (Nhật Báo Chiêu Dương).

Known as the “Queen of Awards,” Hồ Quỳnh Hương is a three-time winner of the Yellow Apricot Award’s Most Favorite Pop Artist and five-time winner of Blue Waves Award’s Most Favorite Singer, with numerous chart-topping albums. She has also represented her country in international music ceremonies and has performed in many countries around the world.

Various Aulacese-language media covered the musical starring Hồ Quỳnh Hương.

During her 2011 live show “Colors of Hồ Quỳnh Hương” at filled-to-capacity venues with thousands of fans, she sang a song titled “Moon of Mine,” based on Supreme Master Ching Hai’s poem. The show was a critical success garnering many positive media reviews that notably highlighted the spiritual songs that were presented.

In her personal life, Hồ Quỳnh Hương has adopted the compassionate vegan lifestyle. In an interview with Supreme Master Television, she said, “When I decided to be vegan and practice meditation, it changed my life almost totally. I realize there is a huge compassion inside me which I did not realize before. I sing because I want to contribute, and I sing because I want to love people more. I also want to do everything if that will benefit the community.”

Excited to join the stellar cast of Loving the Silent Tears: The Musical, Hồ Quỳnh Hương revealed the thoughts of the creative team as shared during the rehearsal process: “They said that when they initially took on this project, they didn't expect it to get bigger and bigger to become such a huge project now. And once they joined the project, they immediately felt something very extraordinary happened to them. It was sort of like an inspiration was brought upon them and the artists all feel greatly elevated. There was a meeting of all performers in which the director made some statements, and when he talked, I could feel that he was emotional. The composers as well as the choreographers or even myself and other artists all feel an immense love sort of seeping into our beings.”

In the rehearsal studio with the ensemble

The song “Enlightenment” was adapted to music by Henry Krieger, a 2-time Grammy winner and 3-time Oscar nominee. It was performed in Aulacese by Hồ Quỳnh Hương and presented in English by Tony nominee Patti Cohenour, who portrays Joy, the main protagonist in the musical.

“This song requires a deeper sense of perception from the singer,” Hồ Quỳnh Hương noted. “In my thinking, the song talks about something from within our soul. It’s like a really beautiful and noble part inside our soul that needs to be awakened. When I sing this song, I hope the beautiful and noble part inside me will also be awakened in the most powerful way.”

She further shared, “Every day, I have to pray. And every day I have to practice, so I can clearly convey the things mentioned in this poem, the message that Supreme Master Ching Hai wants to send to the world, to humankind, to all sentient beings.”

For the song, Hồ Quỳnh Hương wore an elegant white áo dài, the traditional Aulacese dress, and there was a large lotus behind her to represent “enlightenment.” Being that it was the last country featured in the musical, the director had a vision to make it very grand and involved almost the entire ensemble wearing the regional outfits to represent North, Central and South of Âu Lạc.

“And I did not expect that the dancers would be so charming when they performed the Vietnamese dance,” recalled the singer. “I felt as if they had indeed conveyed all the charm of the Vietnamese people, the beauty of the Vietnamese young women and young men. I was really touched. I couldn’t believe that the beauty of the Vietnamese culture was being transported onto the stage in the musical this time.”

When asked what she thought the audience would take away from the musical experience, Hồ Quỳnh Hương thoughtfully shared, “After watching the musical, I believe that each person will have a big change of heart. First, their love will be awakened. Second, they will know about world peace.

 A spiritual symbol, pink lotuses are part of the set and dancers' props for the song "Enlightenment."

They will realize it. And perhaps the audience will go home and ask, ‘Is it real? Is there such thing as a beautiful soul? Am I a beautiful soul? Am I truly a great being? Then I have to search, and how do I find it?’ And I believe if they have such questions, surely God will show them, show them the way to find their true Self.”