Report of Monthly Regular Meeting October2023 (The 213thMeeting of Opera Research Group)
Waseda Institute for Research in Opera and Music Theatre (WIROM), Comprehensive Research Organization, Waseda University
- Time and Date: October7th (Sat.) 2023, 16:30-18:00(JST)
- Format: Online meeting (Zoom)
- 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 inCarmenand was theheroine 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 ledby L. Feodoroff and toured the Far East, including Japan. In Japan, where the Company touredin 1919 and 1921, she gained fame for her role as Carmen. Moreover, the scandal ofa 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 Japanbecame 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 anadjunct instructorat Nagoya College of Music,Kinjo Gakuin University and Aichi University ofthe Arts. Her research field is the History of Western and Russian Music. She has publishedInvitation to the French Concession in Shanghai:Cultural Exchange between Japan, France and China(co-editor, Bensei Shuppan, 2023) and Music and Border: NewHorizon 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” (SeverNo. 39,2023). - Moderator: YAMADA,Sayaka
*Comment: There were 25 participants.
