, "A Portrait of Shunkin", is an opera by Minoru Miki

Minoru Miki

is a Japanese composer and artistic director, particularly known for his promotional activities in favour of Japanese traditional instruments and some of their performers....

, with Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

 libretto by .

It premiered in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 on 24 November 1975. It was composed earlier that year. Shunkinshō is based on a short story of the same name

Shunkinsho

Shunkinsho is the name of:*Shunkinshō , by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki *Shunkinshō , a Japanese film based on the story*Shunkinshō , based on the story...

 by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (谷崎潤一郎).

The vocal score is published by Zen-On Music Company Ltd

Zen-On Music Company Ltd

is a music publishing company based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, in Japan. Zen-On publishes sheet music for sale and rental, including orchestral scores, band and wind ensemble music, solo works and contemporary works, such as Frederic Rzewski's "People United ..." The company was founded in 1931.Zen-On are...

.

Roles

Japanese	English	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 1975 (Conductor: Kazuo Yamada 山田一男)
春琴	Shunkin, a blind koto teacher	soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...	Michiko Sunahara (砂原美智子)
佐助	Sasuke, her servant and lover	baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...	Shigeo Harada (原田茂生)
利太郎	Ritarō	tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
安左衛門	Yasuzaemon	bass
しげ女	Shigeme	mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...

Synopsis

Set in 19th-century Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

, the three-act opera tells the story of a love affair between Sasuke and blind koto

Koto (musical instrument)

The koto is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument, similar to the Chinese guzheng, the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum and the Vietnamese đàn tranh. The koto is the national instrument of Japan. Koto are about length, and made from kiri wood...

teacher Shunkin, with the opposition of Sasuke's rich suitor Ritarō.

External links

• Operas of Minoru Miki
• Shunkinshō information page at Minoru Miki website (in Japanese)