"The Threepenny Opera"
Bertolt Brecht / Music: Kurt Weill / Translation: Jun Ooka
Directed by: Giorgio Barberio Corsetti
Music Director: Keiko Harada / Costume Design: Kazuhiro Sawataishi
General Director: Satoshi Miyagi
Programmer of Tokyo Festival: Yoshiji Yokoyama
"The Threepenny Opera"
With only one coin, an outdoor theatric performance is available, presented by one of Italy’s leading directors, Giorgio Barberio Corsetti, who held auditions at Ikebukuro and personally selected all performers for the play. Mackie, the leader of a gang of London thieves, prepares an empty stable for his wedding ceremony with Polly, the daughter of the boss of London’s beggars, subsequently eluding his pursuers after entrusting everything to Polly. A sharply satirical music drama that swept the world during an era of nancial crisis and the rise of Nazism makes an appearance in Ikebukuro’s Nishiguchi Park.
〔 Comments from Satoshi Miyagi 〕
In Tokyo right now, there are two kinds of people—those who know the enjoyment of going to the theater and those who know nothing about it at all.
Looking at the numbers, the former are much less numerous than the latter. Of course, theaters have limited seating, so tens of thousands of people cannot view theater at once, unlike broadcasting or the Internet. So it is natural for numbers to be modest, and if those who don’t visit the theater have enough interest to feel that maybe something entertaining might be happening in this place we call the theater, then I don’t think we need to worry.
However, in contemporary Tokyo a deep division seems to separate the former group from the latter group. These two groups are clearly divided, and the members of the former are becoming fixed in their ways.
Given these circumstances, the only way to attract a lot of spectators to the theater is to have a popular TV personality perform. And although popular media personalities may give truly great performances, ticket prices will be higher.
Once it’s known that tickets will sell despite higher prices, this will be the end of cheap tickets. In this way, the division between the former and the latter camps will become even more pronounced.
So at the Tokyo Festival 2018, we have planned to strike back at this spiraling situation with an outdoor performance of The Threepenny Opera.
First of all, we have made a leap out of the theater and will perform at Ikebukuro Nishiguchi Park, without even creating an enclosed space. Although the show is “threepenny,” unfortunately this is not a realistic price to charge for entry – thus, a single-coin admission fee will be charged. Just watching from a distance away will be free of charge. I’ve selected a musical drama so that those people can enjoy just the sound and music. You can start watching partway through or you can leave before the end.
However, quality is meaningless unless it is first-class. There’s no point in making theater accessible if the quality also declines. This only serves to expand the misguided prejudice that the theater lacks interest.
The director has decided to invite Mr. G.B. Corsetti: a director highly skilled in crafting theatrical works. This will be Mr. Corsetti’s first time directing Japanese actors. Mr. Corsetti himself will select all of the performers through performanceoriented auditions in which name value or personal connections are irrelevant. We will be sure to secure an ample rehearsal period, and we hope that audiences will come to understand how enjoyable theater can be under a highly skilled and experienced director.
I urge you to keep an eye out for the outdoor performance of The Threepenny Opera at the Tokyo Festival 2018.
Information
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VenueIkebukuro Nishiguchi Park
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Dates
Oct. 18 (Thu) 7:00pm
Oct. 19 (Fri) 7:00pm
Oct. 20 (Sat) 7:00pm
Oct. 21 (Sun) 7:00pm
Oct. 22 (Mon) 7:00pm
Oct. 23 (Tue) -
Oct. 24 (Web) 7:00pm
Oct. 25 (Thu) 7:00pm
Oct. 26 (Fri) 7:00pm
Oct. 2 7(Sat) 7:00pm
Oct. 28 (Sun) 7:00pm -
Time
120min *TBD
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Language
Performed in Japanese.
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TypeTokyo Festival - Directly Managed Program, Theatre, Outdoor Theater Performance, Music, Enjoy free of charge
Ticket
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Unreserved seating (With reference number)¥ 500 -
*Free viewing area available. For more information click here.
*Continues in case of light rain. If this performance is canceled, we have an announcement on our website at 4:00p.m. in the date.
*Children age 0 and above may enter the hall.
*One infant may sit in a single adult's lap. (free of charge)
*The ticket is limited to 2 tickets per person.
*Tickets cannot be canceled for any reason except for when the performance itself is canceled.
▼【Reservations】Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre Box Office
・Phone: +81(0)570-010-296 (10:00am to 7:00pm except on closing days)
・English Ticket site
Major artists
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By:Bertolt Brecht
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Music:Kurt Weill
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Translation:Jun Ooka
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Directed by:Giorgio Barberio Corsetti
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Music Director:Keiko Harada
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Costume Design:Kazuhiro Sawataishi
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Casts:Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum: Mitsunori HIROKAWA
Filch/Ede: Yoji IZUMI
Celia Peachum: Fuyuko MORIYAMA
Matthias: Yasuyuki MIYASHITA
Macheath: Hideki GOTO
Polly Peachum: Maya ASABA
Jacob: Katsuhiko KONAGAYA
Robert/constable: Shoichi AYADA
Smith/Jimmie: Seima NUMATA
Walter/constable: Masanori KIKUZAWA
Brown: Yusuke YANAI
Jenny/prosutitute: Yuumi SAKAKIBARA
Jenny/prosutitute: Takakiyo KATSURA
Jenny/prosutitute: Kazumi SHINOHARA
Lucy: Sawaka MINAGUCHI -
Musicians:Yumiko Meguri (Piano), Stefan Hussong (Accordion), Daiki Abe (Electronic keyboard)
Artist Profile
Giorgio Barberio Corsetti
One of contemporary Italian theater’s most acclaimed directors. Born in Rome in 1951. In 1976 he presented a new dramatic language using moving images at the Venice Biennale, which garnered a great deal of attention. In 1988 he presented four works by Kafka, and in America he attempted a form in which the audience followed actors walking on paths different from the everyday. In 1994, he received the Europe Prize New Theatrical Realities. In 1999 he became Artistic Director of Theater for the Venice Biennale, also opening the door to circus works. In 2001, he named his theater company Fattore K, after Kafka. In 2012, he staged his first production at the ComédieFrançaise. In 2014, he directed The Prince of Homburg, which was presented in the palace courtyard as the opening work of the Festival d’Avignon. He has also directed a number of opera works, including Turandot at La Scala in Milan.
In Japan, he presented La Camera Astratta/Abstract Room in 1991 and From the Works of Kafka Description a Struggle in 1992 at Laforet Museum Akasaka. In addition, he presented The
Story of Ronald, McDonald’s Clown at the SCOT Summer Season 2008 and Tra la terra e il cielo at the SCOT Summer Season 2009. He also presented the Mariinsky Opera’s Don Carlo conducted by Gergiev at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan in 2016.
General Director: Satoshi Miyagi
Programmer of Tokyo Festival: Yoshiji Yokoyama
〈 Directly Managed Program 〉
Organizers: Arts Council Tokyo & Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture)
Co-organizer: syuz'gen LLC.
Supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs Government of Japan in fiscal 2018
Photo: Kazuomi FURUYA
