Yusuke Kamiki - OPERA Summary and Comment

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Webmaster: KAMIKI Yusuke

I am an avid follower of Opera in Tokyo, Japan. I studied music at university. I am qualified to work as a music teacher at high schools in Japan. When I was a university student, I played title roles of Mozart’s opera "Le nozze di Figaro" and "Don Giovanni", and sang a solo part of Haendel’s oratorio "Messiah". I wrote two books for beginners to understand opera. You can purchase them at Amazon.co.jp.

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e-mail: wakaru_opera*hotmail.co.jp (* = @)

my Japanese web-site

Opera Rankings for Japan

1st:　Turandot
2nd:　The Marriage of Figaro
3rd:　Die Zauberfloete

4th:　Aida
5th:　La traviata
6th:　Madama Butterfly
7th:　Carmen
8th:　Salome
9th:　Tosca
10th:　Die Fledermaus

(* This ranking is according to access analysis
of my Japanese web-site in 2005-2015.)

The Opera World in Tokyo

Japan is famous for Kabuki, Noh and Bunraku, but there are also many opera companies in Japan. Many of which are concentlated in Tokyo. There are three companies in particular that are famous:
1) The New National Theatre Tokyo (NNTT)
2) Tokyo Nikikai Opera Foundation
3) The Japan Opera Foundation

The New National Theatre Tokyo (NNTT), was completed in February 1997. NNTT is a 1-minute walk from Hatsudai Station. (Hatsudai Station is one stop from Sinjuku Station on the Keio New line.) NNTT is the most famous opera house in Japan, but I regret to say, it doesn’t have an orchestra exclusive to the house. NNTT presents about 10 opera titles per year. Already, a lot of famous conductors, directors and singers from all over the world have performed at the NNTT, for example, Franco Zeffirelli, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, Jose Cura, Renato Bruson, and other artists.

NNTT has three theatres, "Opera House (1,814 seats)", "Play House (1,038 seats)" and "The Pit (468 seats)". In 2007, NNTT celebrated the 10th Anniversary of its Opening, and the "Opera House" theatre was nicknamed "OPERA PALACE Tokyo." The OPERA PALACE Tokyo has 4 movable stages. Most regular opera performances are performed here. Ticket rates are from about 5,000 to 25,000 yen. If you visit Tokyo for the first time, I recommend NNTT as your first stop.

Tokyo Nikikai Opera Foundation (Nikikai) has grown significantly since 1952. Nikikai has a membership of about 2,000 opera singers, that is, a group of Japanese opera singers. The secretary-general and most party organaizers of this foundation are active opera singers.

Nikikai presents about 4-5 operatic performances and a few opera concerts per year. As mentioned above, Nikikai is the only group of singers, so it doesn’t have its own opera house or theatre. Nikikai gives its regular operatic performances at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan (the Main Hall seats 2,300) or the Nissay Theatre (1,330 seats).

The Tokyo Bunka Kaikan is known as one of the best acoustic halls in Japan. Many first-class opera houses and large orchestras from all over the world have performed here since 1961. (For example, the Wiener Staatsoper with Karl Boehm performed Mozart’s opera “The Marriage of Figaro” here in 1980. You can watch this performance on DVD.) The Tokyo Bunka Kaikan is located in Ueno Park in Tokyo. It is about a 1-minute walk from Ueno Station on the Yamanote line.

Nikikai mainly presents German opera, but also presents Italian, French, and Russian operas. Nikikai has a lot of singers, so it is possible for them to perform various countries’ operas. Recently, Nikikai calls upon some prominent directors, for example, Peter Konwitschny, Andrea Homoki, or Willy Decker and so on. The collaboration between these prominent directors and Japanese opera singers creates high quality performances. If you have an opportunity to enjoy Nikikai’s opera, Japanese singer may become your favorite.

The Japan Opera Foundation is also one of the most famous opera companies in Japan. The Japan Opera Foundation consists of two sections, that is, "Fujiwara Opera" and "the Japan Opera Association."

Fujiwara Opera was founded by a famous Japanese tenor singer, Yoshie Fujiwara (1898-1976) in 1934. Fujiwara Opera presents about 3 to 4 operatic performances and a few opera concerts each year. Fujiwara Opera mainly performs Italian opera. The singers who belong to this opera company are very good at singing Italian operas in the Italian style, "Bel Canto". Some of the singers are active in Italian opera houses.

The other section of the Japan Opera Foundation, the Japan Opera Association was founded in 1958. This opera company mainly presents creative operas by Japanese composers. Some of the Japanese composers have an incentive to create a unique Japanese opera with Japanese text, with Japanese story, and with Japanese music style. More than 70 operas have been presented by the Japan Opera Association. Wouldn’t you like to see a Japanese opera?

However, the Japan Opera Foundation doesn’t have a web-site in English. It may be difficult for you to find their performance information and to buy tickets. Many of the performances by the Japan Opera Foundation are performed at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan and at the theatres of NNTT.

If you visit Tokyo, I recommend you go to Shibuya, because in Shibuya, there is the largest CD & DVD shop, “Tower Records.” It is about a 10-minute walk from Shibuya Station which is on the Yamanote line.

Tower Records is a world famous record shop, and it has some branches in Tokyo. Above all, the branch in Shibuya is one of their largest shops in the world. All of the 7^th floor in is the classical section. It’s a surprising large space. CD & DVD from all over the world are available here. There are not only CD & DVD made in Japan but also a lot of import CDs & DVDs. You would be able to find the Disc that you would like. Of course, there are a lot of opera CDs & DVDs.

Many music artists visit this shop during their tours. And they all are astonished at the large selection in this shop. They are pleased that they can find some stuff that they have looked for for a long time.