, ''"A Portrait of Shunkin"'', is an opera by

Minoru Miki Minoru Miki (, 16 March 19308 December 2011) was a Japanese composer and Artistic director. He was known for promoting Japanese, Chinese and Korean traditional instruments as well as some of their performers. In his catalogue these tradition ...

, with

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

libretto by . It premiered in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

on 24 November, 1975. It was composed earlier that year. ''Shunkinshō'' is based on the novella of the same name by

Jun'ichirō Tanizaki was a Japanese author who is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in modern Japanese literature. The tone and subject matter of his work range from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle portr ...

(谷崎潤一郎). The vocal score is published by Zen-On Music Company Ltd.

Roles

Synopsis

Set in 19th-century

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, the three-act opera tells the story of a love affair between Sasuke and blind koto teacher Shunkin, with the opposition of Sasuke's rich suitor Ritarō.

References

* ''Miki, Minoru'' by Masakata Kanazawa, in 'The

New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes. The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...

', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992)

External links

Operas of Minoru Miki

(in Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Shunkinsho (opera) Japanese-language operas Operas set in Japan Operas by Miki Minoru 1975 operas Operas