Opera for Children
(Opera intended for first-year junior high school students of Nagano Prefecture)
※This is an educational program and is closed to the general public.
| Dates | Sep. 8, 2025 (Mon) 11:00 / 15:00 Sep. 9, 2025 (Tue) 11:00 / 15:00 |
|---|---|
| Venue | Kissei Bunka Hall (Nagano-ken Matsumoto Bunka Kaikan) |
| Program | Verdi: “La traviata” Act 1, Act2-2 |
Conductor: Diego Matheuz (Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Principal Conductor)
Director: David Kneuss
Set & Costume Designer: Robert Perdziola
Lighting Designer: Yi Zhao
Cast
Violetta Valéry: Ikumi Nakagawa
Alfredo Germont: Shuhei Itoga
Giorgio Germont: Naoto Ito
Flora Bervoix: Akiko Muratsubaki
Annina: Misa Yamashita
Gastone: Eijiro Takanashi
Barone Douphol: Hidekazu Machi
Marchese d'Obigny: Shogo Mori
Dottore Grenvil: Masaki Mizushima
Performance
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 with the Saito Kinen Orchestra members and other professional musicians in whom Seiji Ozawa has placed immense trust, and the results are presented in opera and orchestra performances. The program has shown steady success, with many members flourishing as soloists, concertmasters and principal instrumentalists in Japan and abroad.
Chorus
Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Chorus
Opera performances intended for first-year secondary school students of Nagano Prefecture. This year we will present Verdi: “La traviata” Act 1, Act2-2. About 3,800 students from 58 secondary schools in the prefecture will join the performance.
This production was originally designed and premiered for the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Opera Project XXI (March 2025).
Conductor
© Carlos Vargas
Diego Matheuz
Conductor
El Sistema (Venezuela) alumnus. Was La Fenice principal conductor, Orchestra Mozart Bologna principal guest conductor upon Claudio Abbado’s invitation, and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra principal guest conductor. At the 120th anniv. Deutsche Grammophon “Special Gala Concert” (2018), he exchanged the baton with Seiji Ozawa to conduct the SKO with Anne-Sophie Mutter. Since then, he conducted the SKO upon Ozawa’s invitation regularly, and in 2022, was appointed the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy’s first-ever principal conductor. A regular guest at major opera houses in Berlin, Rome, Paris, and NY, and at prestigious festivals including the Rossini Festival Pesaro and the Arena di Verona.
Director
© Carlos Vargas
David Kneuss
Stage Director
David Kneuss recently completed his tenure at the Metropolitan Opera where he was executive stage director for 25 years and directed nearly 100 productions. He has also directed for the opera companies of: Chicago; San Francisco; Washington, DC; Boston; Portland; Bonn; the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino; the English National Opera; Hyogo Performing Arts Center.
Having a career-long association with Seiji Ozawa, he first staged opera for Ozawa and the BSO at Tanglewood, Boston’s Symphony Hall, and Carnegie Hall. He continues to create productions for OMF and the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy, where he is also artistic director.
Cast
