Teiko Kiwa
Teiko Kiwa | |
|---|---|
Hỉ sóng Sadako | |
 Teiko Kiwa as "Cio-Cio-San" from a 1926 publication | |
| Born | Laetitia Jacoba Wjlhelmina Klingen November 20, 1902 Yokohama, Japan |
| Died | May 29, 1983 Nice, France |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Other names | Sadako Kiba, Teiko Rawita-Proszowska |
| Occupation | Opera singer |
Teiko Kiwa(Japanese:Hỉ sóng Sadako,romanized:Kiwa Teiko;November 20, 1902 – May 29, 1983), bornLaetitia Jacoba Wilhelmina Klingen,was a Japanese-Dutch opera singer. She was known as "the Japanese Duse", a reference to Italian actressEleanora Duse.[1]
Early life
[edit]Klingen was born inYokohama,the daughter of a Dutch official, Hermanus Klingen, and dressmaker Tsuru Antonia Klingen; her maternal grandmother was Japanese. She moved to Italy in 1920, to train as a singer.[2]
Career
[edit]Kiwa (also known asSadako Kiba) specialized in playing Japanese opera roles, including Cio-Cio San in Puccini'sMadama Butterfly,[3]wearing her own authentic kimonos and accessories, rather than the usual European costumes. She starred inMadama Butterflyin her professional debut in 1922, at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon. She was the first Japanese woman to sing the role at thePolish National Opera,[4]and at theFinnish National Opera and Ballet,and the second to sing the role in Brazil.[3]She also sang the role in many other European cities, including Rome and Vienna.[1][5][6][7]"The exquisite Japanese soprano proved herself beyond dispute the most impassioned actress who has ever interpreted this role," wrote one reviewer in 1926.[8]
She also played Norina inDon Pasqualeand Mimi inLa bohème.She made recordings for theVictorlabel in the 1930s. In April 1927, she was described as "the only singer who dares to travel by areoplane."[9]She appeared on the covers of the American magazineMusical Courierin August and September 1927.[10][11]
Personal life and legacy
[edit]Kiwa married Czesław Rawita-Proszowski, a Polish tenor who was also her manager. AfterWorld War II,she moved toNice,and taught singing. Her husband died in 1973, and she died in Nice in 1983, aged 80 years. In 1990, a documentary aired on Japanese television, titled "Mrs. Chocho: Opera Singer Sadako Kiba's Life", and a CD of her recordings was released. Her remains were returned to Yokohama in 2003. Materials related to her career were part of an exhibit at the Polish National Opera in 2016.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ab"Teiko Kiwa in Demand".Musical Courier.95(7): 28. August 18, 1927 – via Internet Archive.
- ^Kutsch, Karl-Josef; Riemens, Leo (2012-02-22).Großes Sängerlexikon(in German). Walter de Gruyter. p. 2397.ISBN978-3-598-44088-5.
- ^abHosokawa, Shūhei (2019-11-04).Nationalizing Chō-Chō-San: "Butterfly Singers" in the Japanese-Brazilian Community.Brill. pp. 271–294.doi:10.1163/9789004396395_007.ISBN978-90-04-39639-5.S2CID210244712.
- ^"POLAND: Quixotic Dictator".Time.1926-11-22.ISSN0040-781X.Retrieved2023-01-02.
- ^"Teiko Kiwa".Archivio Storico del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma.Retrieved2023-01-02.
- ^"Teiko Kiwa in Warsaw".Musical Courier.94(4): 7. January 27, 1927 – via Internet Archive.
- ^"A Striking Japanese Artist".Musical Courier.92(19): 5. May 13, 1926 – via Internet Archive.
- ^Pierre Key's Music Year Book: The Standard Music Annual.Pierre Key. 1926. p. 42.
- ^"Japanese Soprano Travels by Air".Musical Courier.94(6): 25. February 10, 1927 – via Internet Archive.
- ^"Teiko Kiwa, Europe's Most Popular Japanese Soprano, as Iris".Musical Courier.95(7): cover. August 18, 1927 – via Internet Archive.
- ^"Teiko Kiwa, Distinguished Japanese Soprano, as Madame Butterfly".Musical Courier.95(12): cover. September 22, 1927 – via Internet Archive.
- ^"Inspired by the Far East".Teatr Wielki Opera Narodowa.2016.Retrieved2023-01-02.
External links
[edit]- A recording of Teiko Kiwa singing, on YouTube
- "Die japanische Opernsängerin Teiko Kiwa",a photograph taken about 1930, at Getty Images
