A publicity shot of Ngoc Tuyen. Tuyen says she’s content with teaching and doesn’t want to chase fame and glamour.

Alluring, pure and beautiful. These adjectives are constantly mentioned whenever the talk veers around to the voice of 30- year-old soprano Ngoc Tuyen.

A relative unknown in the show business industry, Ngoc Tuyen first came into public awareness, and stayed on in many minds, after the live show “Unlimited Symphony” by the metal band Unlimited at the Nguyen Du Sports Complex last August.

he concert won high acclaim from both experts and fans for the surprising harmony struck between different genres of music, especially between metal music and opera.

In addition to the visibility, another benefit of the orchestra project is Unlimited’s fruitful collaboration with Ngoc Tuyen. Viet Thanh, leader of the Unlimited band, says Tuyen is one of the most extraordinary female voices in town.

“Her pure soprano matches our style perfectly, my voice in particular,” Thanh said, “She has done an excellent job.”

After the show, especially the rewarding effect of the opera extract “Phantom of the Opera,” Tuyen became indispensable, not only to the band’s next album but also another special concerts featuring different kinds of fusion music, for instance, semiclassical mini shows of singer Duc Tuan.

Having known each other since 2005, Duc Tuan reserves high admiration and praises for Tuyen’s soprano voice that was able to hit the Mi 3 note in the duet “Phantom of the Opera.”

For her part, Tuyen is thankful for Duc Tuan’s invitation.

“It was a challenge then. When Duc Tuan asked me to participate in his show, I had to work on my voice with lecturer My An, to perform that musical extract. Thanks to her instructions, I knew how to broaden my voice and control it. Now I can sing better with high notes,” says Tuyen.

Soprano Ngoc Tuyen (L) performs with singer Duc Tuan on a semiclassical concert in Ho Chi Minh City.

There are others who lavish praise on Ngoc Tuyen’s voice. Viet Tan of Viet Tan audio station asserts Ngoc Tuyen as one of the best sopranos in the country.

“Opera might not be easy to listen to [for a lay audience], so it is all the more important to know how to combine both the beauty of the song and the voice,” says Tan, who credits Tuyen with achieving this.

No frills lecturer

In spite of her recent fame on the music scene, Ngoc Tuyen does not consider singing her career. She is devoted to her job as lecturer at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music and Saigon University’s Art Department.

“It may be because of my slow lifestyle. I do not like to scramble for fame and wealth. I like teaching and watching my students grow up. Maybe I have an old head on young shoulders,” she says.

Apart from her passion for music and to teach it to her students who benefit from her practical experience, Tuyen is also a skilled dancer, having learnt the art at a dancing school for four years.

When she talks about her reluctance to chase fame and glamor, or about the problems that fame brings, she is candid.

For many reasons, her debut album of prewar music, which was done in 2007, has not been released.

“Having no support, not having enough time and my being too strict are some of the reasons. Now I waver between releasing it or not, because I myself find it old.

“Now I am thinking of a semi-classical collection and a classical one. But to pursue dreams, you have to move on and be self-motivated. I am not that type. So I decide to keep following my teaching career and participating in whatever show I like, as I have been doing so far.”

One of such shows is currently in the offing.

Next month, after the conservatory’s annual show Giai dieu mua thu (Autumn Concord), starting from August, 19, Ngoc Tuyen will team up with famous Canadian singer Genevieve Charest in Duc Tuan’s debut live concert “Duc Tuan on Broadway” at HCMC Opera House on August 29.

Reported by Nguyen Van