Eurasian Opera opus 4
A SHIO - Song of diaspora
2024
"Eurasian Opera" is a genre in music theater that incorporates folklore, music, and language cultures of various regions of Asia and Europe. The new work focusing on the present state of the cultures of Jeju Island in Korea, the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, and the Ryukyu Islands (especially Yonaguni Island) will be staged in Okinawa and Tokyo in December 2024.
Korean and Taiwanese performers of traditional music, dancers, filmmakers, and artists will come together to create a collaborative work based on dialogues among artists with roots on each of the respective islands who confront their native culture. Relating border crossers moving from island to island by boat to modern diaspora members who remain in ongoing dialogue with their native lands, the production will examine the true nature of “homeland” and explore the shape of future multicultural symbiosis.
The main performer will be HIGASHIMORI Aika, a young film director and actor from Yonaguni Island. The vocal soloists will be Eri LIAO, who is descended from the indigenous Atayal (Itaṟal) people of Taiwan, and MOON Seokbeom, a singer and actor from Jeju Island. A chamber music ensemble organized in Japan will be joined by players of the gayageum (twelve-stringed zither) and traditional percussionists from Korea, as well as players of the sheng (a Chinese free-reed wind instrument) from Taiwan.
trailer
Direction, Compose: Jun Kawasaki
Solist
Aika Higashimori (lead actress)
Eri Liao (vocal)
Moon Seokbeom (vocal)
Ensemble:
Chang Jaehyo (percussion) Park Soon-A (gayageum)
Li-Chin Li (sheng)
Aki Ozawa (guitar) KyongA Im (cello)
Akiko Imamoto (flute / Okinawa performance)
Sayaka Kaneno (flute / Tokyo performance)
Kota Arai (percussion)
Cast
Arihiro Yamada (butoh dance)
Hiroyo Miura (dance)
Aya (butoh dance)
Akira Yoshimatsu (Japanese traditional vocal, actor)
Satoshi Tsuboi (Vocal, Script)
Erika Ueda (performance)
Staff:
Hideto Miyuki (Video and Art director)
Chong Ri Ae (Installation art)
Go Takayama (Video)
Inquiry
Jun Kawasaki, Music and Poetic Drama Laboratory
Organized by Jun Kawasaki, Music and Poetic Drama Laboratory
Co-organized by The Japan Foundation
Co-produced by Jun Kawasaki, Music and Poetic Drama Laboratory / The Japan Foundation
Produced by Jun Kawasaki, Music and Poetic Drama Laboratory / Tomo Saito (Marmelo, inc.)
The Japan Foundation
Support for Collaborative Creations between Japanese and International Artists
International Creations in Performing Arts 2024
Jun Kawasaki, Music and Poetic Drama Laboratory presents
Kuroshio Current Project Taiwan–Yonaguni–Jeju
7 December 2024 start: 18:00
8 December 2024
venue: Tenbusu Hall, Tenbusu Naha, Okinawa
10 December 2024
11 December 2024
venue: Nippori Sunny Hall, Tokyo