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World Premiere of Toshio Hosokawa's Stilles Meer at the Hamburg Staatsoper

Jan. 06, 2016

World Premiere of Toshio Hosokawa's <em>Stilles Meer</em> at the Hamburg Staatsoper

The Hamburg Staatsoper presents the world premiere of Toshio Hosokawa’s opera Stilles Meer (Silent Sea) on January 24 conducted by Kent Nagano. The work features a libretto by Hannah Dübgen, based on an original text by Oriza Hirata, who also provides staging for the production. Soprano Susanne Elmark leads the cast, alongside Mihoko Fujimura (mezzo-soprano), Bejun Mehta (countertenor), Viktor Rud (tenor), and Marek Gasztecki (baritone).

Similar to Hosokawa’s earlier stage works, Stilles Meer is inspired by “Noh” theater, the classical Japanese musical drama. His idea for this one act opera was informed by the Noh piece Sumidagawa; the composer states, “The story is about a mother who has lost her son – Benjamin Britten used the same subject for his opera Curlew River. His piece is very Christian whereas my opera is very Buddhist.”

Hosokawa also cites the devastating Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011 as a source of artistic motivation, changing the setting of the original Noh play to Fukushima. He describes his music as “a kind of requiem,” and Stilles Meer in particular as “a requiem for the victims of the Tohoku earthquake.”

For more information on Toshio Hosokawa, visit schott-music.com.

Tickets and performance information can be found at staatsoper-hamburg.de.

Toshio Hosokawa
Stilles Meer (2015)
opera in one act (5 scenes)
libretto (Ger) by Hannah Dübgen after an original text by Oriza Hirata
for soprano, mezzo-soprano, countertenor, tenor, baritone and SATB chorus
2(1.pic, 2.afl).2(2.ca).2(2.bcl).2(2.cbsn)-4.2.3.1-4perc-hp.cel-str
90’

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