Bamboo Princess
| Bamboo Princess | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Numajiri Ryūsuke[1] | |
 Received back into Moon Palace (月宮迎), an 1888 print from the series One Hundred Aspects of the Moon by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi | |
| Librettist | Numajiri Ryūsuke |
| Language | Japanese |
| Based on | The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter |
| Premiere | |
The Bamboo Princess (歌劇「竹取物語」, Kageki "Taketori Monogatari") is an opera in five scenes[2] or acts[3] composed by Numajiri Ryūsuke to a Japanese libretto by the composer, based on the late ninth- or early tenth-century Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. First performed in 2014, it has a running time of approximately two hours.[4] While the libretto is faithful to the original story,[5] the "beautiful"[6] score is reminiscent of popular tunes of the Shōwa era.[5][6] The orchestration includes parts for harp, celesta, and horagai.[4]
Synopsis
One day, in a bamboo forest, an old bamboo-cutter comes across a shining stalk of bamboo, inside which, when cut open, he finds a young girl.[7] Raised as their own by the old man and his wife, who name her Kaguya-hime, the girl grows into a beautiful young woman.[7] Five princes, hearing of the beauteous maiden, wish to marry her; she tells them she will marry the one who brings her the treasure she seeks.[7] Hearing of her beauty, the Emperor also wishes to marry her and for three years writes to her.[7] Kaguya-hime gazes at the Moon in tears and tells the old man that from the Moon she came and to the Moon she must return.[7] Presenting the Emperor with an elixir of immortality as a parting gift, and bidding a sad farewell, Kaguya-hime returns to the Moon.[7] Without her, the Emperor has no wish for the elixir, takes it to the highest mountain, and immolates it—Mount Fuji thus taking on the mantle of immortality.[7]
Characters
The opera has the following roles:[7]
- Kaguya-hime (Princess Kaguya, found in a shining bamboo stalk)
- Okina (an old bamboo-cutter, who finds and raises Kaguya-hime)
- Ouna (an old woman, wife of the bamboo-cutter)
- Mikado (the Emperor, who wishes for Kaguya-hime as his consort)
- Ishitsukuri-no-Miko (prince and suitor, tasked with obtaining the Buddha's begging bowl)
- Kuramochi-no-Miko (prince and suitor, tasked with obtaining a jewelled branch from the Isle of Horai)
- Abe-no-Miushi (prince, suitor, and Minister of the Right, tasked with obtaining a fire rat pelt robe)
- Ōtomo-no-Miyuki (prince, suitor, and Great Counsellor, tasked with obtaining a coloured jewel from the neck of a dragon)
- Isonokami-no-Marotari (prince, suitor, and Middle Counsellor, tasked with obtaining the shell of a cowrie born of a swallow)
- Envoy from the Moon (with whom Kaguya-hime must return)
- General (tasked by the Emperor with driving off the envoy(s) from the Moon)
- Craftsmen (who make the jewel branch of Horai)
Performance history
Following a concert performance at Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall in 2014, two performances were staged at the Hanoi Opera House with the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra in 2015.[4][6] The staged Japanese première was at the Biwako Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Shiga later the same year.[6] Further performances at the Biwako Hall[6] and New National Theatre, Tokyo[2] in 2020 were cancelled on public health grounds, but a semi-staged performance went ahead at the Biwako Hall in 2022.[6] In 2024 it was performed with soprano Sunagawa Ryōko in the title role at the Biwako Hall with the Japan Century Symphony Orchestra,[7] Sapporo Concert Hall Kitara with the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra,[3] and Yamagin Kenmin Hall with the Yamagata Symphony Orchestra.[5]
References
- ↑ "Ryusuke Numajiri". Hong Kong Sinfonietta. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
- 1 2 "[CANCELLED] Invitational Programme for Performing Arts in the Region: Biwako Hall "Princess KAGUYA"". New National Theatre, Tokyo. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
- 1 2 "Ryusuke NUMAJIRI: Bamboo Princess". Sapporo Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- 1 2 3 "Opera "Bamboo Princess"（2014）" (in English and Japanese). Zen-On. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
- 1 2 3 共同制作オペラ 沼尻竜典作曲 歌劇『竹取物語』 [Co-produced Opera by Numajiri Ryūsuke: Bamboo Princess] (in Japanese). Yamagin Kenmin Hall. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 歌劇『竹取物語』 [Bamboo Princess] (PDF) (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. p. 6. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Numajiri Ryusuke： Bamboo Princess". Biwako Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Shiga. Retrieved 23 October 2025.