On Friday 16th June 2006 Australia and Japan celebrated the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between the two countries with a cast of Australian and Japanese musical talent collaborating in the Opera "Princess from the Moon" at Llewellyn Hall, ANU School of Music in Canberra.
OPERA "Princess from the Moon", composed and conducted by Maestro Hideaki Hirai is based on the classic Japanese fairy tale "Kagauyahime". The story is the tale of a young princess who descends from the Moon to Earth and is raised by an elderly couple who find her in a piece of bamboo. She grows up to be the most beautiful woman in Japan attracting many marriage proposals from dignitaries, including the Emperor of Japan. The princess rejects these proposals, knowing that one day she must return to the moon.
Princess Kaguya poses with three
suiters during rehearsal.
Grandmother (Kazuko Nagai), Stage Director (Kenji Naoi), Princess Kaguya (Mami Koshigoe), Composer and Conductor (Hideaki Hirai) and Mikado (Katsuji Miura) (Left to Right)
The Woden Valley Youth Choir played the roles of the village children.
Pictured here with
Alpha Gregory, director of the Woden Valley Youth Choir.
Over 200 people (cast and crew) were involved in this epoch-making performance. The composer/conductor, soloists, stage directors, lighting technitions, producers and a volunteer choral group from Japan flew all the way to Canberra to take part in the one night only performance.
The local musicians consisted of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, Woden Valley Youth Choir, Canberra Choral Society and five male soloists.
Click here to view the publicity flyer for the Opera "Princess from the Moon"
The cast at the curtain call on the night of the performance.
Mr Hirai praised the efforts of the Australian soloists and choirs, who with little time were able to master their lines in perfect Japanese. The maestro also referred to the solid relationship that has been formed between Australia and Japan which continues to strengthen through similar exchanges. Explaining that the story of Kaguyahime was over 1000 years old, he expressed his strong belief that the relationship between Australia and Japan will also continue to flourish for the next 1000 years and beyond.
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