Monthly Regular Meeting October 2023 (The 213th Meeting of Opera Research Group)
Waseda Institute for Research in Opera and Music Theatre (WIROM), Comprehensive Research Organization,Waseda University
- Time and Date: October 7th(Sat.) 2023, 16:30 – 18:00 (JST)
- Format: Online meeting (Zoom)
-Registration is required by October 6th (Fri.).Please register through following URL: (Currently closed.)
Presenter: MORIMOTO, Yoriko - Affiliation: Nagoya College of Music
- Title: “From the Russian Grand Opera Company to the Metropolitan Opera: Operatic Career of a Mezzo-soprano Singer, Bourskaya (1886–1954)”
- Language: Japanese
- Abstract:
Ina Bourskaya (1886–1954) is a mezzo-soprano singer, who made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, in 1923, and played the title role in Carmen and was the heroine in many Russian operas till 1937. Born in Ukraine (Imperial Russia), Bourskaya worked as an opera singer throughout Russia. She then joined the Russian Grand Opera Company led by L. Feodoroff and toured the Far East, including Japan. In Japan, where the Company toured in 1919 and 1921, she gained fame for her role as Carmen. Moreover, the scandal of a Russian man who had followed her from Russia suiciding in Japan drew great public attention. Bourskaya can be regarded as one of the first “foreign opera stars” in Japan. This presentation reveals how she performed as an opera singer in the Russian Grand Opera Company, based on documents that remain in Russia, Japan, China, and the United States. This paper traces the process of a Russian emigrant’s success in the world of the opera, and reveals how Japan became one of the stages of her career development. - Profile of Presenter:
Yoriko MORIMOTO studied at the graduate school of Aichi University of the Arts, where she received her doctorate in music. She is an adjunct instructor at Nagoya College of Music, Kinjo Gakuin University and Aichi University of the Arts. Her research field is the History of Western and Russian Music. She has published Invitation to the French Concession in Shanghai: Cultural Exchange between Japan, France and China (co-editor, Bensei Shuppan, 2023) and Music and Border: New Horizon of Music Research Opened up by Eight Viewpoints (editor, Ongakunotomosha, 2022). She has also published “Tour of the Russian Grand Opera Company in Japan (1919 and 1921): Focusing on the Performances in the Kansai Region” (Sever No. 39, 2023). - Moderator: YAMADA, Sayaka
Next meeting
- Next meeting: November 11th (Sat.) 2023
Presenter: TACHI, Arisa
Moderator: SATO, Suguru
- Waseda Institute for Research in Opera and Music Theatre (WIROM), Comprehensive Research Organization, Waseda University
- e-mail address: operaken-uketsuke[at]list.waseda.jp ( [at] = @)
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