For the East and West concert on August 22, international Noh vocalist Ryoko Aoki will perform in the Japanese premiere of ‘Futari Shizuka – The Maiden from the Sea’, composed by Toshio Hosokawa. This programme is part of the Suntory Hall Summer Festival 2021.
Aoki will sing with Ensemble Intercontemporain (EIC), the world renowned contemporary chamber music group under the direction of EIC principal conductor Matthias Pintscher. They had previously performed together for the premiere of Hosokawa’s opera in Paris in 2017.
The opera, which is an adaptation of a Noh play, tells the story of a Japanese ghost who enters the body of a refugee girl on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The songs are about the sadness of war and the struggles caused by hatred.
The second half of the night will feature a performance of Mahler's ‘Das Lied Von’ by mezzo-soprano Mihoko Fujimura and tenor Benjamin Bruns.
Aoki's second album, ‘Yoru no Kotoba’, will also be available for pre-orders on August 22. Her new album, a collaboration with cellist Eric-Maria Couturier from EIC, comes seven years after the release of her debut title. The album is based on the theme of night, and combines Noh vocals with cello music.