ALL GENRE: 17^TH August, 2023

On the Passing of IIMORI Taijiro, Former Artistic Director of Opera

The former Artistic Director of Opera Iimori Taijiro passed away on August 15, 2023. We would like to express our deepest condolences.

As one of the leading Japanese conductors, Mr. Iimori has been active both at home and abroad. Based on his deep knowledge of opera, which he had accumulated in European countries, he brought a number of Wagner operas to the Japanese music scene.

At the NNTT, he conducted Bluebeard's Castle in 2000, and then conducted performances including NNT Opera Studio L'Heure espagnole / Eine florentinishe Tragödie. In September 2014, he assumed the position of Artistic Director of Opera at the NNTT. As an inaugural performance, he invited Harry Kupfer to direct Parsifal, a masterpiece of Wagner, and had the premiere at the NNTT under his own conducting. Following this, for three years from the 2015/2016 season, he produced a new tetralogy of 'Der Ring des Nibelungen' directed by Götz Friedrich and conducted it himself. Furthermore, in the 2017/2018 season, as a compilation of the Artistic Director of Opera at the NNTT, he produced and conducted Fidelio directed by Katharina Wagner, the General Director of the Bayreuther Festspiele, and caused a great sensation. Throughout his tenure, he worked vigorously to introduce the essence of opera, including Wagner, with an enterprising spirit, and left a large footprint in the performance of Wagner's operas at the NNTT and in Japan.

Everyone involved in the theatre is deeply saddened at the news of Mr. Iimori's passing. We would like to express our deepest condolences, as well as our respect and appreciation for his achievements during his lifetime.

New National Theatre Tokyo
17th August, 2023