Kazuo KOBAYASHI -tenore-
Profile
Kazuo Kobayashi studied under Koh-ichi Tajima and Kohnosuke Watanabe. After graduating from the Kunitachi College of Music, he recieved the Milan Award at the Japan-Italy Competition in 1973, which granted him a scholarship from the Italian government to study at Conservatorio Guiseppe Verdi. His first performance was in “Rita” by Donizetti at the Piccola Scala Theatre in Milan, 1974. Since then, he has held many performances all over Italy. He also recieved a Special Award at the ’74 International Competition for Singers Reggio Emilia. In 1975 he became a singer under an exclusive 2-year contract with the Oldenburg National Theater in West Germany, performing works such as, “Il Tabarro” and “Gianni Schicchi” by Puccini, “Fra Diavolo” by Auber, “Dialogues des Carmeli” by Poulenc. His first performance in Japan was in 1977 as Pincarton in the Nikikai production of “Madame Butterfly”. He has been highly acclaimed ever since. His major performances include the role of Yohyo in “Yuuzuru” in 1979, Don Jose in “Carmen” and Werther in “Werther” in 1980, Don Carlos in “Don Carlos” in 1981, Cavaradossi in “Tosca” and Rodolfo in “La Boheme” in 1983. He won the Giraud Opera Award for his superb talent in 1983. In 1989, he performed the role of Tamino in “Die Zauberfloete” on the occasion of the opening of the Orchard Hall. He also performed the role of Yohyo in “Yuuzuru” and Pincarton in the production of Nissei Opera. In 1990, he appeared in the production of “Tristan und Isolde”, “Orfeo ed Euridice”. In 1991, he participated in the opera series in commemoration of Mozart. In 1992 and 1994, he toured in 30 cities in Japan performing the role of Yohyo in “Yuuzuru”. Since 1993, to broaden his repertoire, he made his debut in the contemporary opera, “Sen No Kioku No Monogatari” by Shigeaki Saegusa. He has also performed in “L’ange de feu” by Prokofiev, and the Japan premier version of “Chinmoku” by Teizo Matsumura. In 1994, he performed in “Don Giovanni” by Mozart and the premier version of “Susanooh” by Ikuma Dan. His future acitivities for the year of 1997 includes, “Chushingura” in May, “Takeru” in October which will be held in the New National Theatre Tokyo,and “Madame Butterfly” in December. He is one of the best of the rare bel canto tenor singers. He has been asked by many orchestras to sing as a soloit for Verdi’s “Messa da Requiem”, symphonies, oratorios and Messa. His performances, especially of Mozart pieces, receive critical acclaim for his sonorous, rich voice, and for his lyrical express ion. – Revised in April 1997 –
opera
| Composer | Title | Character | language |
|---|---|---|---|
| V.Bellini | I Capuleti ed i Montecchi | Tebaldo | italian |
| V.Bellini | I puritani | Arturo | italian |
| L.v.Beethoven | Fidelio | Jacchino | german |
| G.Bizet | Carmen | Don Jose | french/japanese |
| Ikuma Dan | Yuzuru | Yohyo | french |
| Ikuma Dan | Susanou | King Soshimori | japanese |
| Ikuma Dan | Takeru | Mikado | japanese |
| G.Donizetti | L’elisir d’amore | Nemorino | iItalian/japanese |
| G.Donizetti | Lucia di Lammermoor | Edgardo | italian |
| G.Donizetti | La figlia del reggimento | Tonio | italian |
| G.Donizetti | Rita | Beppe | italian |
| G.Donizetti | Don Pasquale | Arturo | italian |
| C.Gounod | Faust | Dottor Faust | french/japanese |
| P.Mascagni | Iris | Osaka | italian |
| P.Mascagni | Cavalleria rusticana | Turiddu | italian |
| P.Mascagni | L’amico Fritz | Fritz | italian |
| J.Massened | Werther | Werther | french/japanese |
| W.A.Mozartト | Cosi fan tutte | Ferrando | italian/japanese |
| W.A.Mozart | Don Giovanni | Don Ottavio | italian・japanese |
| W.A.Mozart | Die Zauberfloete | Tamino | german/japanese |
| W.A.Mozart | Die Entfuerung aus der Serail | Belmonte | japanese |
| G.Puccini | La boheme | Rodolfo | italian |
| G.Puccini | Gianni Schicchi | Rinuccio | italian/german/japanese |
| G.Puccini | Madama Butterfly | Pinkerton | italian/japanese |
| G.Puccini | Tosca | Cavaradossi | italian |
| Romberg | The Student Prince | Prince | japanese |
| G.Rossini | Il barbiere di Sivilla | Conte Almaviva | italian/japanese |
| G.Rossini | L’italiana in Algeri | Lindoro | italian |
| Shigeaki Saegusa | Yamatotakeru | Takeru | japanese |
| Shigeaki Saegusa | Chushingura | hashimoto | japanese |
| Shigeaki Saegusa | Sen no kioku no monogatari | Man | japanese |
| G.Verdi | Il ballo in maschera | Riccardo | italian |
| G.Verdi | Don Carlo | Don Carlo | italian |
| G.Verdi | Falstaff | fenton | italian/japanese |
| G.Verdi | Rigoletto | Il Duca di Mantova | italian/japanese |
| G.Verdi | La traviata | Alfredo | italian |
| C.M.v.Weber | Die Macht des Schicksal | Max | japanese |
| Teizo Matsumura | Chinmoku | Mokichi | japanese |
Orchestral works
| Composer | Title | language |
|---|---|---|
| J.S.Bach | Weihnachts-Oratorium | german |
| L.v.Beethoven | Messa Solemnis | latin |
| L.v.Beethoven | Symphony No.9 choral | german |
| H.Berlioz | La damnation de Faust | french |
| Dvorak | Stabat Mater | latin |
| G.F.Haendel | Messiah | engliesh |
| Haydn | Die Jahreszeiten | german |
| Janachek | Glagolitic Mass | czech |
| Lisz | Faust Symphony | french |
| G.Mahler | Das Lied von der Erde | german |
| G.Mahler | Symphony No.8 Mille | german |
| F.Mendelssohn | Elias | latin |
| F.Mendelssohn | Symphony No.2 Lobgesang | german |
| W.A.Mozart | Messa di Requiem | latin |
| C.Orff | Carmina Brana | latin |
| G.Puccini | Messa di Gloria | latin |
| G.Rossini | Messa Solenne | latin |
| G.Rossini | Stabat mater | latin |
| R.Schumann | Das Paradies und die Peri | german |
| I.Stravinsky | La pulcinella | latin |
| G.Verdi | Messa da Requiem | latin |