Casts and Staffs

Mimì: Francesca MANZO (soprano)

She was a student at the La Scala Academy in Milan, where she performed as Gilda in Rigoletto with Leo Nucci in the title role, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, and Adina in L’Elisir d’amore at La Scala as an Academy student. As an up-and-coming soprano, she has recently appeared again as Adina in L’Elisir d’amore at the Grand Théâtre de Geneve, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel at the Cagliari Opera House, and many other roles in various European productions.This is her first visit to Japan.

Rodolfo: Riccardo DELLA SCIUCCA (tenor)

Born in Atri, Italy, he studied singing with the tenors Romano Emili and Luciano Ganci, then with the soprano Iano Tamar. In addition to music, he graduated in philosophy at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan. In 2017, he won the “Angelo Loforese” International Opera Competition in Milan, as well as many prizes in other international competitions. He studied at the La Scala Academy in Milan, where he made his operatic debut in the 2018 Academy's performance of Cherubini's Ali Baba as Nadir.Recently he sang the role of Cassio in Otello by Verdi at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino conducted by Zubin Mehta, and he made his debut as Gabriele Adorno in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra at Teatro Regio di Parma conducted by Michele Mariotti. In August it will make his debut as Un Messaggero in Aida by G.Verdi in Salzburger Festspiele.This is his first visit to Japan.

Musetta: Ewa TRACZ soprano

Born in Poland, she completed her studies at the La Scala Academy in Milan in 2018. During her studies she appeared in Die Entführung aus dem Serail as Constanze, Hänsel und Gretel as Gertrud and Nabucco as Anna. Recent and upcoming performances include Micaela in Carmen at the Polish National Opera, Ulana in Paderewski's Manru at the Polish National Opera, National Opera of Ukraine, and Lviv National Opera, Roxana in Król Roger by Szymanowski in Szczecin Opera House, and the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro on the Warsaw Chamber Opera's Japan tour. Concerts include Lutoslawski's Silesian Triptych at the opening of the Polish National Radio Symphony Hall and Szymanowski's Stabat Mater in Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Marcello: Gustavo CASTILLO (baritone)

Born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, he approached his musical studies through "El Sistema" and studied singing with Idwer Álvarez. In 2016 he was admitted to the Academia del Teatro alla Scala. He made his major operatic debut at the Teatro alla Scala in 2017 as Peter in Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel. In 2022 he returned to the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, in which he performed The narrator/Baritone soloist in La Estancia Op. 8 by Ginastera. He appeared as El Diablo in Estévez's La Cantata Criolla with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra conducted by Juanjo Mena. He made his debut at the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi in Salerno, Italy, with Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. Among his future commitments are the debutat the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, Italy as Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet by Gounod, Verdi’s Un Ballo In Maschera as Renato at the Stadt Theater in Klagenfurt, Austria, the debut in Montreal, San Diego and Leipzig with the Devil in La Cantata Criolla.

Schaunard: Paolo INGRASCIOTTA (baritone)

In 2013, he joined Academy ROF of Pesaro singing Trombonok in Il Viaggio a Reims. Between 2016-2018 he was member of the La Scala Academy appearing at La Scala in La Cenerentola as Don Magnifico, Hänsel und Gretel as Peter, Il barbiere di Siviglia as Figaro and Don Bartolo, Alì Babà e i 40 Ladroni as Alibaba. His appearances include Guglielmo in Così fan tutte at Teatro Carlo Felice of Genov, Slook in Cambiale di matrimonio and Germano in Scala di seta, Gaudenzio in Il signor Bruschino at Teatro Olimpico of Vicenz,,Shaunard again in Treviso,Bolzano,Fermo,Savona,Ferrara. Marcello in La bohème and Escamillo in Carmen at the National Opera of Tirana, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor at the National Theatre of Zagabria. Next season he will be Procolo in le Convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali at Savona and Novara theatre. First time in Japan.

Colline: Eugenio DI LIETO (bass)

Born in Terracina, Italy, he graduated with honors from the Conservatory of Music Francesco Morlacchi. He has appeared at the Teatro Argentina in Rome, Teatro Coccia in Tuscany and Novara, and Teatro Verdi in Florence, among others. He has made great strides in his career, including Melisso in Alcina at the Teatro dell'Opera Spoleto and the title role in Don Pasquale at the Opera Studio in Tenerife. In recent years, he has been a member of La Scala Academy, appearing as Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia and in Ali Baba by Cherubini. Recent appearances include Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina under Gergiev at La Scala, Rigoletto Sparafucile, and as Sam in Un ballo in maschera in Tenerife.

Benoit / Alcindoro: Rocco CAVALLUZZI (bass)

Born in Campobasso, Italy. While a member of La Scala Academy, he appeared in numerous productions including La Cenerentola, Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Don Carlo conducted by Myung-Whun Chung. He has also appeared at the Royal Opera House of Turin, the Opera House Petruzzelli of Bari, the Festival of Ancient Music in Innsbruck, the Mozarteum Salzburg, and the Valle d'Itria Festival in La donna serpente conducted by Fabio Luisi. He has performed throughout Italy and Europe, such as at the Theatro alla Scala,The Theatro San Carlo of Naples, Teatro la Fenice of Venice, the Wigmhore Hall of London. He recorded many DVD’s and Cd’s, as the operas La Dori by Cesti and Lucrezia Borgia by Donizetti. He will perform in the next months Romeo et Juliette by Gounod at the Opera House Petruzzelli of Bari and a rare opera of Cimarosa in a theater in Rome.

Parpignol: Kunihito KIYOHARA (tenor)

He completed a graduate program at Osaka College of Music. He has delivered excellent performances in more than 70 leading and supporting roles, including the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto and Riccardo in Un ballo in maschera. When he played Goro in Madama Butterfly in Italy, he received rave reviews from newspapers. Other appearances include that in Les Misérables at Imperial Theatre. He has participated in numerous religious and choral music performances as a soloist and has independently planned and directed opera productions. He is a board member of Kansai Opera Company, a member of Kamigata Opera Koubou and a part-time faculty member of the Osaka College of Music. He was awarded the 2005 Osaka Performing Arts Newcomer Award and 2013 Osaka Cultural Festival Encouragement Prize, and named a 2013 Person of Cultural Merit by Suita City. Twitter: @k21kiyo

Mimì: Ryoko SUNAKAWA (soprano)

She graduated from Musashino Academia Musicae and continued her graduate studies there. She was a recipient of the 10th Ezoe Scholarship for Opera from 2001 to 2004 to Italy. She was also a recipient of the Gotoh Memorial Cultural Foundation Scholarship to Italy for one year from 2005. She was the winner of the 34th Italy-Japan Vocal Music Competition. She won first prize at the 69th Japan Music Competition and was the winner of the Zandonai Prize at the 12th Riccardo Zandonai International Vocal Competition. She made her debut as Euridice in the opera Orfeo e Euridice at the New National Theatre, Tokyo. She has also sung as Zerlina in Don Giovanni. She has appeared with Fujiwara Opera Company as Corinna in Journey to Rheims, Mimi in La bohème, Nedda in The Clown, Violetta in La Traviata, and others. She received high acclaim at the Opera Summer Festival 2019-20 Japan↔Tokyo↔World in Turandot as Liu. She received the 16th Gotoh Memorial Culture Award for Opera Newcomer of the Year. She is a member of Fujiwara Opera Company.

Rodolfo: Hiroaki FUEDA (tenor)

He graduated first in his vocal course class from the Nagoya University of the Arts, School of Music and also completed his graduate studies there. He made his opera debut in the role of Calaf in Turandot. While studying in Italy, he made his Italian debut as Manrico in Il Trovatore at the Teatro dell'Opera Ferrara. He has appeared in many operas and concerts as a primo tenor, including operas performed by the Fujiwara Opera Company, and has always received positive reviews. He has received numerous awards, including the 20th Gotoh Memorial Culture Award for Newcomers to Opera, a fellowship from the Agency for Cultural Affairs' Overseas Study Program for Artists, first prize at the 50th Italy-Japan Vocal Music Competition, and received the Kiyoshi Igarashi Award and the Takiko Okabe Award. He is a member of Fujiwara Opera Company and is a Special Tourism Ambassador of Yuzawa Town, Niigata Prefecture.

Musetta: Sofia MCHEDLISHVILI (soprano)

Georgian soprano, after Tbilisi Conservatoire she studied at La Scala Academy between 2013-15 and made her debut at La Scala as Clorinda in La Cenerentola. Performed Sandrina in La finta giardiniera at Opera Rennes, Mercedes in Carmen at La Scala, Countess de Folleville in Il Viaggio a Reims at the Rossini Festival in Pesaro. Performed Folleville and Lisinga in Demetrio e Polibio at Rossini in Wildbad Festival, which was made CD recordings. She has also performed as The Queen of the night in Die Zauberflöte at the Teatro Filarmonico and Gertnerplatz theatre, Adina in L'Elisir d'amore at the Tbilisi Opera House. Performed important roles such as Lucia from Lucia di Lammermoor, Gilda from Rigoletto, Amenaide in Tancredi in theaters around Italy. She made her debut at the Opera de Saint-Carlesse in La gazza ladra as Ninnetta, and in a recital at the Wigmore Hall in London. This is her first visit to Japan.

Marcello: Tomohiro TAKADA (baritone)

Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Department of Vocal Music, and completed the Kunitachi College of Music Graduate School of Music, Department of Vocal Music (German Song) at the top of his class. He received the Tamaki Miura Special Prize at the 4th Mt. Fuji International Opera Competition of Shizuoka in 2005. He also participated in the Seiji Ozawa Music School Opera Project IV-VI, and since 2007 has been the exclusive singer at the Kiel Opera House, where he has sung numerous leading roles over the past 13 years. From 2020 he will be the exclusive singer at the Baden State Opera in Karlsruhe. He has been active mainly overseas. In recent years, he has performed in leading roles in many operas in Japan, that have been produced by Yutaka Sado. He also sang the role of Muneyori in the new opera Asters, which had its world premiere at the New National Theatre, Tokyo in 2019, followed by the role of Rodrigo in Don Carlo in 2021, where he captivated audiences with his outstanding singing, winning rave reviews.In December 2017, he received the title of court singer from the city of Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein. He currently resides in Germany.

Schaunard: Hidekazu MACHI (baritone)

He graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, and completed his graduate studies there at the top of his class. He completed the Opera Training Institute of the New National Theatre, Tokyo and studied in Bologna and Munich. He has appeared in operas produced by artistic director, Yutaka Sado, including Madama Butterfly in 2006, Tosca in 2012, The Barber of Seville in 2013, Così fan tutte in 2014, La traviata in 2015, The Marriage of Figaro in 2017, and The Marksman in 2018. In 2016, he received high acclaim as Dancaire in Carmen, conducted by Charles Dutoit with the NHK Symphony Orchestra. He also performs at the New National Theatre, Saito Kinen Festival, Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival, Seiji Ozawa Music School, and others.

Colline: Yasushi HIRANO (bass-baritone)

He graduated from Nihon University College of Art and the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with a first-class honors Master's degree. He has studied with Yoshie Sue, Rotraud Hansmann and Robert Holl, and has been in an exclusive contract since 2008 with the Vienna Volksoper, where he has performed in about 500 performances in the past fourteen seasons, including the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro. In the 2022/2023 season, he is scheduled to appear in Iolanta (a new production), La Cenerentola and Die Zauberflöte as well as many other performances in Japan beginning in the fall. In January 2019, he participated as a soloist in the Japan tour of the Strauss Festival Orchestra and performed at the Hyogo Performing Arts Center, which was favorably received.

Benoit / Alcindoro: Naoki KATAGIRI (bass-baritone)

He graduated from the Graduate School of Opera, Tokyo University of the Arts. He received the 38th Kyoto Prefecture Cultural Award for Distinguished Achievement and the 22nd Todo Music Award. He made his debut as Leporello in Don Giovanni and has since appeared in numerous operas, playing over 100 roles to date, all of which have been well received. He is especially well known for his neat musicality and presence in a wide variety of roles. He has also performed as a soloist in oratorios and religious works from the Baroque to the modern era, often with prominent conductors and orchestras. He is a member of the Kansai Nikikai.

Parpignol: Kenji MIZUGUCHI (tenor)

He graduated from the Osaka College of Music with a Bachelor of Music degree and completed his graduate studies at the same institution. He made his debut as Nemorino in Kamigata Opera Koubou’s The Elixir of Love in 2003. Other opera appearances include Alfredo in La traviata, Rodolfo in La bohème, Don Jose in Carmen, Eisenstein and Alfredo in Die Fledermaus, Prince Karaf in Turandot, and many other roles. He has studied under Masaru Adachi, Shoichiro Tahara, K. Lorova, and N. Zanini. He is currently a member of the Kamigata Opera Koubou.

Yutaka SADO (conductor, artistic director)

He graduated from Kyoto City University of Arts and studied under the late Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, and others. He won the Besançon Conducting Competition in 1989, and the 1st Leonard Bernstein Jerusalem International Conducting Competition in 1995.
He has made numerous guest appearances with Europe's top orchestras, including Orchestre de Paris, Deutsches Symphonie-orchester Berlin, WDR Symphonie orchester Cologne, Bavarian State Opera Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, and North German Radio Symphony Orchestra (currently named as NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra) . Since 2015, his European base is in Vienna, and he has been the Music Director of the Tonkünstler Orchestra, Austria's leading orchestra with a history of more than 110 years. He has performed many operas overseas, including Madame Butterfly at the Oranje Festival (performed by the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande), Peter Grimes at the Royal Opera House in Turin, Carmen, and The Marriage of Figaro.
In Japan, he is artistic director of the Hyogo Performing Arts Center and Principal Conductor of the Siena Wind Orchestra, and has released many CDs, the latest being his 17th CD Brahms: Symphony No. 2 / Variations on a Theme by Haydn with the Tonkünstler Orchestra in August, 2021. His publications include How I Became a Conductor (Shincho-Bunko) and A Life of Waving Sticks: Conductors Sculpt Time (PHP Bunko/Shinsho).
He will be appointed music advisor of the New Japan Philharmonic in April 2022, and music director of the New Japan Philharmonic in April 2011.
Official Fan Site：http://yutaka-sado.meetsfan.jp

Dante FERRETTI (stage director, set and costume designer)

Born in 1943 in Marcellata, Italy. He has worked as an art designer for many great American and Italian film directors, including Pier Paolo Pasolini, Federico Fellini, Terry Gilliam, Franco Zeffirelli, Anthony Minghella, Martin Scorsese, Tim Burton, and Brian De Palma. He was trained by Zeffirelli and worked with him on five films. He also worked on five Pasolini films. He worked closely with Scorsese, then worked on designs of seven films out of Scorsese’s latest eight films. In 2008, he designed the set for The Fly directed by David Cronenberg, with music by Howard Shore at the Chatelet Theatre in Paris.
He won the U.S. Academy Award for Best Art Direction for The Aviator, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Hugo and was nominated for 10 other films. He was also nominated for Best Costume Design for Kundun. He has won four British Academy Awards, five David di Donatello Awards, 13 Nastro d'Argento Awards, and many others. He was selected as one of the art designers for Cinecittà World, a theme park near Rome, and was commissioned to create a group of statues for the 2015 World Expo in Milan.