Ettinger designated for TP's Chef

Tokyo Philharmonic announced yesterday that from April 2010 Dan Ettinger takes a baton as their Chief Conductor.

NNTT: Otello

Quick evaluation: A-

NJP Triphony Series 450th Subscription Concert

Quick evaluation: B-

La Scala Japan Tour: Don Carlo

Quick evaluation: B+

La Scala Japan tour: Aida

La Scala bring Aida and Don Carlo for their Japan tour. Tonight I watched the former at NHK Hall, Yoyogi.

Bayreuth's order form has arrived

The order form for the Bayreuth Festival 2010 arrived at my post last Saturday. As announced already, the festival opens on 25 July 2010 with a new production of Lohengrin staged by Hans Neuenfels and conducted by Andris Nelsons, and ends 28 August. The other programmes are Der Ring des Niebelungen, Parsifal and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and staffs are the same as this year. Casts are TBA. Prices seem to be raised due to the pay-rise for their backstage workers. The highest one is €280 in A1 category, the lowest €15 in G4. The deadline is 16 October 2009 and your order has to reach by this date at the latest. Don't miss it.

TSO Tokyo Opera City Series No 51

Siberius programme by Tokyo Symphony Orchestra (TSO) celebrated the 90th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Finland.

Wagner Gala Concert

At Orchard Hall, Bunkamura, Shibuya, a concert titled as above was held. Taijiro Iimori conducted Tokyo Phiharmonic. This afternoon was the latter of the 2 performances. Details are to be reported.

September highlights

This September is, so to speak, 'Verdi month' in Tokyo. In the beginning and middle, La Scala visits Tokyo with Aida (4, 6, 9, 11) and Don Carlo (8, 12, 13, 15, 17). Daniel Barenboim conducts the former with Franco Zeffirelli's staging and the latter Daniele Gatti with Stéphane Braunschweig's. Well-known singers will play, such as René Pape, Barbara Frittoli, Ramón Vargas, Violeta Urmana and Dalibor Jenis.
After La Scala's promising tour, New National Theatre, Tokyo (NNTT) puts Otello on the stage as its 2009/10 season opening in the end of the month (20, 23, 26, 29 and 3 and 6 October). Riccardo Frizza, who led successful Macbeth (2005) and Aida (2008) at the theatre, conducts Tokyo Philharmonic in a new staging by Mario Martone with Stephan Gould as the title role, Tamar Iveri as Desdemona (standing in for Norma Fantini) and Lucio Gallo as Jago.
His rival, Wagner, appears at Bunkamura in the beginning (3 and 5) with Tokyo Philharmonic and Taijiro Iimori. The third act of Die Walküre is mainly played in concert form titled as Wagner Gala Concert. Cancellation of Alan Titus due to illness is sorry but the orchestra played the work splendidly in this April under the direction of Dan Ettinger in the pit of NNTT. Kathryn Foster, Ralf Lukas (replacing Titus) and others will sing.

Verdi lecture by La Scala at IIC Tokyo

Tonight Istituto Italiano di Cultura (IIC, Italian Cultural Institute) in Tokyo held a lecture on Verdi's Aida and Don Carlo by La Scala, 2 days before the first night of its tour in Japan. Paolo Gavazzeni, Orchestra Manager, presented the lecture showing their recorded performances of the masterpieces, which are the programmes of the tour. He talked about not only the works themselves but also the stagings for this time, the former by Franco Zeffirelli in 2006 and the latter by Stéphane Braunschweig in 2008. Details are to report later.