MUSIC FROM JAPAN WORKS INFORMATION
Composition Name: Kinkakuji
Composition Date: 1976
Configuration: Opera
Featured Instrument: Mixed Chorus
Japanese Instrument(s): Y
Length: FLEX
Players: FLEX
Version (Original/Revised): O
MFJ Presented: Y
Recording Title: Cassette
Label Name: None
Recording Format: Audio cassette
Commercial/Non-Commercial: N
Solo/Compilation: S
Item Number: 1
Number of Copies: 1
Recording Title: Opera Kinkakuji
Released: 1993
Performers: Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus, Hiroyuki Iwaki, cond.
Label Name: Fontec
Recording Format: Compact Disc
Commercial/Non-Commercial: C
Recording (American/Japanese/Other): J
Release (American/Japanese/Other): J
Solo/Compilation: S
Item Number: FOCD-3282
Comments: Original Novel by Yukio Mishima, Libretto by Klaus H. Henneberg
MFJ Performance Information:
Venue: New York State Theater
City: New York
Date:
Performers: NYCO Orch. & Chorus/Joseph Colaneri
Article/Review: A
Publication: The New York Times
Title: "The Happening of an Opera Waiting to.."
Author/Critic: Lindsley Cameron
Publication Date: 10/15/95
Synopsis: Background on 'Kinkakuji' with quotes from Donald Keene, Mayuzumi,
Naoyuki Miura and Jerome Sirlin.
Origin (American/Japanese): A
Article/Review: A
Publication: Newsday
Title: "Youth, Arson And Inarticulate Rage"
Author/Critic: Justin Davidson
Publication Date: 10/15/95
Synopsis: Background on the novel, the making of the City Opera production,
the composer's thoughts on the music & libretto, and the appeal of the
opera for Naoyuki Miura.
Origin (American/Japanese): A
Article/Review: R
Publication: Philadelphia Inquirer
Title: High aims do not make for theatrical...
Author/Critic: Daniel Webster
Publication Date: 10/23/95
Reaction: Neutral
Synopsis: "...Mayuzumi's Buddhist setting casts a spell over the opera...the
work's high aims don't do much to create a theatrical impact...
staging is the most theatrical part."
Origin (American/Japanese): A
Article/Review: R
Publication: Newsday
Title: "'Kinkakuji' Strikes Out"
Author/Critic: Justin Davidson
Publication Date: 10/24/95
Reaction: Negative
Synopsis: Libretto failed to convey the novel's power; production "did little to
flesh out the work's ellipses"; music "sounded oddly like Berg with a
touch of Revueltas"; Perry lacked sufficient "venom" and "warmth"
Origin (American/Japanese): A
Article/Review: A
Publication: The Japan Times Weekly
Title: "The Masterpiece of Mishima & Mayuzumi"
Publication Date: 10/28/95
Synopsis: Interview with Toshiro Mayuzumi focusing on Mishima and 'Kinkakuji'
Origin (American/Japanese): J
Article/Review: A
Publication: The Japan Times Weekly
Title: "The Golden Temple"
Author/Critic: Yoichi C. Shimatsu
Publication Date: 10/28/95
Synopsis: Summary of Yukio Mishima's 'Temple of the Golden Pavilion'
Origin (American/Japanese): J
Article/Review: A
Publication: The Japan Times Weekly
Title: "Music From Japan"
Publication Date: 10/28/95
Synopsis: Interview with Naoyuki Miura focusing on the American Premiere of
'Kinkakuji'
Origin (American/Japanese): J
Article/Review: R
Publication: The Wall Street Journal
Title: "Tuneful Arson: Mishima Novel Set to..."
Author/Critic: Heidi Waleson
Publication Date: 10/31/95
Reaction: Neutral
Synopsis: "The opera captures the novel's atmosphere of obsession, if not its
textured, cumulative power."
Origin (American/Japanese): A
Article/Review: A
Publication: Opera News
Title: "A View From the West"
Author/Critic: Michael Walsh
Publication Date: 10/95
Synopsis: "'Kinkakuji' is a flawed but necessary first step in an evolutionary
process that ought to be...as fascinating as that undergone by
American composers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries..."
Origin (American/Japanese): A
Article/Review: R
Publication: The New York Times
Title: "Resurrecting a Daydream of the..."
Author/Critic: Bernard Holland
Publication Date: 11/16/95
Reaction: Neutral
Synopsis: "'Kinkakuji is not a profound success, but what it does it does
fairly well. Its only failure, if there is one, is as a truly
Japanese opera."
Origin (American/Japanese): A
Article/Review: R
Publication: New York Native
Title: Music Review
Author/Critic: Bruce-Michael Gelbert
Publication Date: 11/20/95
Reaction: Neutral
Synopsis: "The first Japanese opera composed in Western style...Vivid sensual
images abounded...The commitment of cast and conductor to realizing
the elusive opus cannot...be denied."
Origin (American/Japanese): A
Article/Review: R
Publication: Village Voice
Title: "Kinky Production"
Author/Critic: Leighton Kerner
Publication Date: 11/21/95
Reaction: Positive
Synopsis: "City Opera's U.S. Premiere of Toshiro Mayuzumi's 'Kinkakuji' was
bravely sung, well acted, excitingly played in the pit, and
destructively staged and designed."
Origin (American/Japanese): A
Article/Review: R
Publication: New York Post
Title: 'Golden Pav.' seems somewhat tarnished
Author/Critic: Shirley Fleming
Publication Date: 11/3/95
Reaction: Neutral
Synopsis: "The musical action is all in the orchestra, which is colorful and
emphatic...A fine cast took part...The Greek-style chorus acquitted
itself admirably and conductor Joseph Colaneri gave the work his all."
Origin (American/Japanese): A
Article/Review: R
Publication: New York
Title: "Mishima and the Temple of Doom"
Author/Critic: Peter G. Davis
Publication Date: 11/6/95
Reaction: Neutral
Synopsis: "The City Opera gives 'Kinkakuji' a thoughtful and well-executed
production, but the piece amounts to little more than an abstraction,
and a pretty deadly one at that."
Origin (American/Japanese): A
Article/Review: R
Publication: The Westsider
Title: Mishima Mishmash Illuminated by Genius..
Author/Critic: Bill Zakariasen
Publication Date: 11/8/95
Reaction: Neutral
Synopsis: "'Nirvana Symphony' is a fabulous piece of music whose sounds are
echoed in 'Kinkakuji'...Jerome Sirlin...has created a show that must
be seen to be believed...Most of the performance must be heard..."
Origin (American/Japanese): A
Article/Review: R
Publication: San Francisco Examiner
Title: Keene's N.Y. Opera Legacy
Author/Critic: Allan Ulrich
Publication Date: 12/8/95
Reaction: Neutral
Synopsis: "Mayazumi's musical style is bewilderingly familiar...the production
is handsome, but bewildering...The company...attempts 'Kinkakuji' with
exceptional commitment."
Origin (American/Japanese): A
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