Mitsuko Shirai (born 28 May 1947) is a Japanese
mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...
and music professor.
[Alan Blyth, "Mitsuko Shirai", Grove Music Online]
Biography
Born in
Nagano Nagano may refer to:
Places
* Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan
** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture
*** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics
*** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano
*** Nagano Universi ...
, Shirai first trained in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
before settling in Germany, where she completed her vocal studies with
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf.
[Slonimsky and Kuhn, "Shirai, Mitsuko", ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', Centennial Edition, Volume 5, page 3311] Between 1973 and 1976, she took prizes in competitions at Vienna, Zwickau,
's-Hertogenbosch
s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...
, Athens, and
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
. She made her recital début in Tokyo in 1975, her European début in Amsterdam the following year.
In 1989 she made her New York début at Carnegie Hall, in Ravel's ''
Shéhérazade.
In 1973 Shirai formed a duo with the pianist
Hartmut Höll
Hartmut Höll (born November 24, 1952) is a German pianist and music professor.J. B. Steane, "Hartmut Höll", Grove Music Online
Biography
Höll was born in Heilbronn. He trained in Stuttgart, Milan and Munich, specializing in art song accompanim ...
. The pair have toured extensively, performing repertory from Scarlatti to the complete vocal works of
Anton Webern, and have given masterclasses in Europe, the USA and Israel.
In 1997 the two were awarded the ABC International Music Award.
Shirai has made occasional excursions into opera, including an admired Despina at Frankfurt in 1987,
and has appeared in concert versions of ''
Lucio Silla
''Lucio Silla'' (), K. 135, is an Italian opera seria in three acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the age of 16. The libretto was written by Giovanni de Gamerra, revised by Pietro Metastasio.
It was first performed on 26 December 1772 a ...
'', Wagner's ''
Das Liebesverbot
' (''The Ban on Love'', WWV 38), is an early comic opera in two acts by Richard Wagner, with the libretto written by the composer after Shakespeare's ''Measure for Measure''. Described as a ', it was composed in early 1836.
Restrained sexuality ...
'', and Dukas's ''
Ariane et Barbe-bleue''.
Other orchestral appearances have been with the
Berlin Philharmonic,
New Japan Philharmonic
The is a symphony orchestra based in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1972 with Seiji Ozawa as honorary conductor laureate. The Philharmonic's primary concert venue is the Sumida Triphony Hall. From 2003 to 2013 its music director was Christi ...
,
Atlanta Symphony,
Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique de Paris and the
Vienna Symphony.
["Mitsuko Shirai", ''2015 Who's Who in Classical Music'', p. 803] Conductors include
Riccardo Chailly
Riccardo Chailly (, ; born 20 February 1953) is an Italian conductor. He is currently music director of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, since 2016, and music director of La Scala, since 2017. Prior to this, he held chief conducting positions ...
,
Eliahu Inbal
Eliahu Inbal (born 16 February 1936, Jerusalem) is an Israeli conductor.
Inbal studied violin at the Israeli Academy of Music and took composition lessons with Paul Ben-Haim. Upon hearing him there, Leonard Bernstein endorsed a scholarship for ...
,
Yuri Ahronovitch
Yuri Mikhaylovich Ahronovitch (Юрий Михайлович Аронович) (13 May 193231 October 2002) was a Soviet-born Israeli conductor.
Born in Leningrad, he studied music and the violin from the age of 4. In 1954 he graduated as condu ...
, Ferencic and
Wolfgang Sawallisch
Wolfgang Sawallisch (26 August 1923 – 22 February 2013) was a German conductor and pianist.
Biography
Wolfgang Sawallisch was born in Munich, the son of Maria and Wilhelm Sawallisch. His father was director of the Hamburg-Bremer-Feuerversich ...
.
Teaching
In 1992 she was appointed professor of singing at the
Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe.
She has presented masterclasses at the
Savonlinna Opera Festival
Savonlinna Opera Festival ( fi, Savonlinnan oopperajuhlat) is held annually in the city of Savonlinna in Finland. The Festival takes place at the medieval Olavinlinna (St. Olaf's Castle), built in 1475. The castle is located amid spectacular lake ...
, the
Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, and the
Aldeburgh Festival, as well as in Switzerland, the USA, and at Isaac Stern's
Jerusalem Music Centre.
Selected discography
*''Haydn: Arianna a Naxos; English Canzonettas'' (1990) Camerata Records
*''2x Winterreise'' (1991) Capriccio Records
*''Othmar Schoeck: Das Holde Besheiden'' (1993) Claves
*''Lieder mit Viola (Songs with Viola)'' (1995) Capriccio Records
*''Schubert-Edition: Die Schöne Müllerin; Winterreise'' (1997) Capriccio Records
*''Schumann: Frauenliebe und –Leben, Op. 42, Liederkreis, Op. 39'' (1997) Camerata Records
*''Wolf: Möricke Lieder'' (1998) Capriccio Records
*''Norbert Burgmüller: Chamber Music'' (2000) MDG
*''LiedOpera: Franz Schubert, Vol. 1, Op. 1–24'' (2000) Capriccio Records
*''Schumann: Songs/Lieder'' (2003) Brilliant
*''Europäisches Liederbuch'' (2003) Capriccio Records
*''Lied Edition'' (10 CDs) (2004) Capriccio Records
*''Paul Dukas: Ariane et Barbe-Bleue'' (2011) Capriccio Records
*''Schumann: Myrthen, Op. 25 (selections); Lenau Lieder, Op. 90'' (unknown date) Brilliant
*''Schubert: Abendröte; Spohr: Deutsche Lieder'' (unknown date) Capriccio Records
*''Wolf: Goethe-Lieder'' (unknown date) Capriccio Records
*''Robert Franz: Selected Songs'' (unknown date) Capriccio Records
*''Mozart: 21 Lieder'' (unknown date) Delta Distribution
*''Mahler: Lieder'' (unknown date) Capriccio Records
*''Franz Schubert: Lieder'' (unknown date) Capriccio Records
*''Richard Strauss: Ausgewählte Lieder'' (unknown date) Capriccio Records
*''Hölderlin Gesänge'' (1994) Capriccio Records
*''Schönberg: Ausgewählte Lieder'' (unknown date) Capriccio Records
*''Schumann Lieder'' (unknown date) Capriccio Records
*''Schubert: Winterreise, D 911'' (unknown date) Capriccio Records
*''Alban Berg: Lieder, 1900–1925'' (unknown date) Capriccio Records
*''Schumann: Liederkreis, Op. 39'' (unknown date) Capriccio Records
*''Brahms: 21 Lieder'' (unknown date) Capriccio Records
*''Webern: Early Songs, Op. 3, 4, 12'' (unknown date) Capriccio Records
*''Franz Liszt: 16 Lieder'' (unknown date) Capriccio Records
*''Wolf: Songs with Orchestra'' (2012), Capriccio 5101–four orchestral songs of Wolf with the Berlin Radio Orchestra and David Shallon
Footnotes
Prizes
1982 Robert-Schumann-Preis
1996 Großen Idemitsu-Musikpreis
1997 ABC International Music Award
2008 “Verdienstmedaille am violetten Band“ donated by the Emperor of Japan
2010 Bundesverdienstkreuz
2018 “The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette” donated by the Emperor of Japan regarding her engagement for the German Lied and culture
2018 Ehrendoktorwürde by the University of Victoria / Canada (Dr. honoris causa)
References
*
*
*.
External links
Discography on Allmusic.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirai, Mitsuko
1947 births
Living people
Japanese mezzo-sopranos
20th-century Japanese women opera singers
21st-century Japanese women opera singers
Operatic mezzo-sopranos
Musicians from Nagano (city)
Singers from Nagano Prefecture
Prize-winners of the ARD International Music Competition