Opera for Children
(Opera intended for first grade junior high school students of Nagano Prefecture)
| Dates | Aug. 28, 2023 (Mon) 11:00 / 15:00 Aug. 29, 2023 (Tue)11:00 / 15:00 |
|---|---|
| Venue | Matsumoto Performing Arts Centre Main Hall ※This program is intended for educational purposes only. No entry to general public. |
| Program | Puccini: “La Bohème” Act 1 and 2 |
Conductor：Diego Matheuz
(Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Principal Conductor)
Stage Director：David Kneuss
Set & Costume Designer：Robert Perdziola
Robert Perdziola
Set & Costume Designer
Robert Perdziola has designed sets and costumes for American Ballet Theatre, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Bolshoi Ballet, Boston Ballet, Finnish National Ballet, Hyogo Performing Arts Center, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Australia, Opera Boston, Metropolitan Opera, Opera Monte Carlo, San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Ballet, Santa Fe Opera, Signature Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre, and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. Among these designs have been Capriccio and Il Pirata for the Met, Giselle for the Bolshoi, Arabella for Opera Australia, and Anna Karenina for Florida Grand Opera. In 2023, he is creating sets and costumes for Die tote Stadt with Opera Colorado, La Bohème for the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Opera Project in Japan, Sweeney Todd at the Signature Theatre, and Don Giovanni for the Hyogo Performing Arts Center.
Tatsuo Takasawa
Lighting Designer
Tatsuo Takasawa joined the Bavarian State Opera’s Japan performances as the Japanese lighting director in 1974, followed by many foreign opera house Japan tours, including the Royal Opera in 1979 that sparked an opera boom in Japan, Vienna State Opera in 1980, and Teatro alla Scala in 1981. The lighting arrangement he did with the late stage director, Goetz Friedrich, for the four-work production of Der Ring des Nibelungen for the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 1987 had a lasting impact on his lighting style. For ballet, he provided designs and accompanied almost all Tokyo Ballet performances in Japan and abroad, including productions of The Kabuki, M, and The Nutcracker choreographed by Maurice Béjart. He also designed lighting for the 1st through 13th World Ballet Festival held once every three years by the Japan Performing Arts Foundation and has been engaged by the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Opera Project since its first production in June 2000 of Le nozze di Figaro.
Wig Designer：Anne Nesmith
Anne Nesmith
Wig Designer
Anne Nesmith is a Washington, DC-based wig designer whose work has been seen at the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival, Hyogo Performing Arts Center, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Opera Philadelphia, Arena Stage, Ford’s Theatre, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Ballet, Opera Boston, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Wolftrap Opera, Signature Theatre, Maryland Lyric Opera, Washington Ballet, and Lorin Maazel’s Castleton Festival among others. She was the Resident Wig and Makeup Designer for the Baltimore Opera Company and has con- structed wigs for the Scooby Doo Live! tour and Daniel Tiger Live. Her work has also been seen at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, on MD Public Television in F.S. Key and the Song that Built America, in Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery’s Cultures in Motion programs, Great Planes on the Military Channel, Ice Cold Killers for Investigation Discovery and the US Army’s tour Spirit of America.
Chorus Master：Takuya Nemoto
Takuya Nemoto
Chorus Master
Takuya Nemoto obtained an MMus in conducting from Tokyo University of the Arts. As a student, he was discovered by the late Hiroshi Wakasugi for his rare talent of grasping theatrical works in their original languages, such as English, German, French, Italian, Latin, Russian, and Czech. He has since supported performances year-round as music staff in the opera section of New National Theatre, Tokyo, and as chorus master, diction coach, lecturer on works, and more for key Japanese opera companies including Tokyo Nikikai, OMF, and Nissay Opera, making him an integral presence in the industry. He also earned a diploma in basso continuo at Conservatoire National Supérieur de Lyon. He plays the harpsichord in the duo Jugong Boys with a Baroque cellist and others, and is also a composer. He has composed two operas (Kagetora, 2018 and La veuve Aphrodissia [Aphrodissia, The Widow], 2021), the cantata RINSHISEN (2016), and other vocal pieces.
http://nemototakuya.info/
Producer: Tatsu Fukamachi
Casts
Mimì：Ikumi Nakagawa
Rodolfo：Takamasa Sawahara
Musetta：Misako Beppu
Marcello：Soshiro Ide
Schaunard：Yuichiro Ichikawa
Colline：Teppei Matsunaka
Benoit：Jumpei Niimi
Alcindoro：Eijiro Takanashi
Chorus： Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Choir、
Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Choir
The choir was formed originally for the June 2000 Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Opera Project. Young, talented musicians are chosen by audition for each production and learn by performing in an actual opera under the guidance of Academy Director Seiji Ozawa and others, including a successful stage director of the Metropolitan Opera. Participants for this performance are from the Kanto, Kansai, Chubu, and Kyushu regions, as well as from Taiwan. Many past choir members have flourished, going on to appear in later performances as soloists and cover cast members.
OMF Junior Chorus
OMF values opportunities for children to join in the Welcome Parade and other performances throughout the festival. The OMF Junior Chorus is another example, and for this opera production, 15 students ranging from fifth to 11th grade from the Matsumoto City area will participate.
Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Orchestra
Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Orchestra
The orchestra was formed originally for the June 2000 Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Opera Project by then-president Kenichiro Sato of ROHM Co., Ltd. and Seiji Ozawa, with the objective of fostering young musicians through opera. Young, talented musicians chosen through auditions in Japan, as well as in other Asian countries including China, Taiwan, and Korea, study under Seiji Ozawa, Saito Kinen Orchestra members, and other professional musicians, and the results are presented in opera and orchestra performances. The superb techniques and vibrant music of the orchestra have earned accolades for its productions thus far. The program has shown steady success, with many members winning high honors at competitions and flourishing as soloists, concert masters and principal instrumentalists in Japan and abroad. In March 2024, Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Opera Project XX will present the Mozart opera Così fan tutte in the cities of Kyoto, Tokyo, and Yokohama.
Opera performances intended for first year secondary school students of Nagano prefecture. This year we will present Act 1 and 2 of Puccini: “La Bohème”. About 4,600 students from 61 secondary schools in the prefecture will join the performance.
Conductor, Director
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© Carlos Vargas
Diego Matheuz
Conductor
Diego Matheuz belongs to the first generation of outstanding musicians emerging from Venezuela’s El Sistema. With a busy conducting career in Europe, Asia, Australia, Latin and North America, he is firmly established on the international circuit and looks back at fruitful periods as principal conductor of La Fenice in Venice, principal guest conductor—upon Claudio Abbado’s invitation—of the Orchestra Mozart Bologna, and as principal guest conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
A particularly significant moment in his career was the gala concert celebrating the 120th anniversary of Deutsche Grammophon at Suntory Hall in December 2018, where he exchanged the baton with Seiji Ozawa to conduct the Saito Kinen Orchestra with soloist Anne-Sophie Mutter.
Subsequently, Seiji Ozawa invited Mr. Matheuz for concerts with the SKO at the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival and on tour in China. In 2022, he worked on Die Fledermaus with the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy, an exemplary performance which resulted in his appointment as the Music Academy’s first-ever principal conductor.
In opera, Mr. Matheuz worked at the Berlin and Bavarian State Operas, Paris Opera, the Liceu in Barcelona, and Rossini Festival Pesaro. In June 2021 he scored a major personal success with his first Aida at the Arena di Verona. With Carmen, he will give his debut at the Met in 2024.
In Venezuela, Mr. Matheuz forms and expands the repertoire of the Sistema orchestras. He also works with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, of which he is principal conductor.
David Kneuss
Stage Director
David Kneuss has recently completed his tenure at the Metropolitan Opera where he served as executive stage director for 25 years and directed nearly 100 productions. In addition to the Met, Mr. Kneuss has also directed productions for the opera companies of: Chicago; San Francisco; Washington, DC; Boston; Portland (Oregon); Bonn (Germany); the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino; the English National Opera; and Hyogo Performing Arts Center in Nishinomiya, Japan, where he just directed a new production of Don Giovanni, completing the Mozart/da Ponte trilogy of operas for that company.
Having a career-long association with Seiji Ozawa, Mr. Kneuss first staged opera for Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood, Boston’s Symphony Hall, and Carnegie Hall. In Japan, he has directed countless pro- ductions for the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival and the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy, where he recently created a new production of La Bohème. Mr. Kneuss also serves as artistic director of the Music Academy.
Mr. Kneuss created a production of La damnation de Faust at Matsumoto Castle, which was the first outdoor production ever presented by the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto (SKF) and was seen by an audience of 5,000. His Peter Grimes, a joint venture between the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and the SKF, began at the Tanglewood Music Center to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the opera’s American premiere and was featured in a film entitled A Tale of Tanglewood.
Cast
© Masaaki Hiraga
Mimì / Ikumi Nakagawa
Soprano
From Hyogo Prefecture. Completed the Kyoto City University of Arts graduate school and Sun- tory Hall Opera Academy course. Asia finalist at the international competition NEUE STIMMEN. Portrayed the heroines of: Carmen, La Bohème, Le nozze di Figaro, Die Fledermaus, Roméo et Juliette, Turandot, Pagliacci, La traviata, L’elisir d’amore, Le Villi. Soloist for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and at the Sapporo PMF, TOKYO MET SaLaD MUSIC FESTIVAL. Appeared multiple times at the Salzburg Festival as the first Japanese national chosen for the Young Singers Project.
Rodolfo / Takamasa Sawahara
Tenor
Hiroshima native. Completed Ehime University, Tokyo University of the Arts and its graduate school, the Toho Gakuen School of Music doctoral program with a music Ph.D., Nikikai Opera Training Institute with the Excellence and Encouragement Awards. Roles since debuting as Don José Carmen: Rodolfo La Bohème, Alfredo La traviata, Tamino Die Zauberflöte, Alfred Die Fledermaus, the title role of Serse. Performed the solo of Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and Orff ’s Carmina Burana. Member of Japan Vocalists Academy and Nikikai.
Musetta / Misako Beppu
Soprano
Alumna of the Tokyo College of Music and graduate school. Awards: 5th Lissone Music Competition (2nd); 4th Hamamatsu Symphony Soloist Audition (1st); 53rd Nichii Vocal Concorso (finalist). When studying in Italy, sang Gilda Rigoletto and Rosina Il barbiere di Siviglia, and in Japan, Musetta La Bohème, Adina L’elisir d’amore, and Violetta La traviata. Covered Frasquita Carmen and Rosalinde Die Fledermaus for the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy. In 2021, made her Fujiwara Opera debut as Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi. Member of Fujiwara Opera, Japan Opera Foundation.
Marcello / Soshiro Ide
Baritone
Native of Kanagawa Prefecture. Awards include: 27th Sogakudo Japanese Lied Competition (2nd); 47th Concorso di Lirica Italiana (Siena Grand Prize); 17th Tokyo Music Competition (3rd); and many more. His talent has been highly acclaimed for many opera performances in Japan as a main cast member, especially in works by Mozart, Donizetti, and Bellini. Lauded as a leading singer of Japan for his Ricardo in I puritani. He also focuses on Japanese operas and songs, appearing in several premieres of operas in the Japanese language. Fujiwara Opera member.
Schaunard / Yuichiro Ichikawa
Baritone
From Kanagawa Prefecture. Completed under- graduate/graduate programs at Showa University of Music. Awards: 1st Kawasaki Newcomer Vocal Competition (3rd); 57th Nichii Vocal Concorso (1st & Song prizes); 2022 Kawasaki City Azalea Prize. Roles: Dandini La Cenerentola, Sharpless Madama Butterfly, Escamillo Carmen, Schaunard La Bohème, Astolfi Il campiello (Fujiwara Opera); Emperor Suzaku Genji Monogatari (Japan Opera Association). Covered Escamillo in the 2019 Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Carmen. Fujiwara Opera member; Showa University of Music part-time instructor.
Colline / Teppei Matsunaka
Bass
Completed Musashino Academia Musicae & graduate school, New National Theatre, Tokyo Opera Training Programme, and short-term training at the Accademia Teatro Alla Scala and Teatro Verdi Trieste; studied with Renáta Vitová and Bonaldo Giaiotti. Sawakami Opera Foundation 2017 scholarship student, Agency for Cultural Affairs 2019 trainee in Italy. Sang in: a Hiroyuki Ehara-produced opera; NNTT; NNTT Studio; Sawakami Opera. Awards: Italian Opera Florence Competition 2018 Premio Speciale; 3rd II Concorso Internazionale SAN COLOMBANO; 57th Nichii Vocal Concorso.
Benoit / Jumpei Niimi
Bass-Baritone
Tokyo University of the Arts & graduate school alumna; trained in Vienna and the Hague. Won Japan Mozart Music, Soleil Music contests; Intl. Ljuba Welitsch Singing Competition special prize. Since his Tokyo Ro-On Ninth Symphony 2009 debut, sings religious music, opera solos, lieder. Sang in: Bach Collegium Japan recordings & world tour; Marcello La Bohème (Kitakyushu City Opera & Teatro Verdi di Trieste coproduction). Oita Prefectural College of Arts and Culture instructor; Oita Nikikai director. Tokyo Univ. of the Arts Graduate School of Music research student.
Alcindoro / Eijiro Takanashi
Tenor
Completed Nihon University College of Art (Dean’s Award), Tokyo University of the Arts graduate school, Nikikai Opera Training Insti- tute. 1st place vocal category at 9th Japan Player’s Competition. Studied in Milan and sang in concerts across Italy. Operas: Carmen, La traviata, L’elisir d’amore, Yuzuru, Macbeth; Nikikai Opera Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, Tosca, Die Fledermaus, Orphée aux enfers; Spring Festival in Tokyo Lohengrin, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Frequently engaged as cover cast of OMF and Seiji Ozawa Music Academy operas. Nikikai member.