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I'm over the moon to announce that the 2019 Tokyo performances of「THE鍵KEY」at Denchu Hirakushi House and Atelier have been awarded the "19th Keizo Saji Prize" by The Suntory Foundation for the Arts! The prize is awarded yearly to a high-quality, challenging, and reaction-provoking performance selected from music-based public performances held in Japan that year. For more information on the prize and to read the judging panel's comments, please see the press release (in English). Receiving such recognition is a testament to all the fantastic people involved; a massive thank you and congratulations to all the performers, creative and production team, and venue staff! 嬉しいご報告があります！2019年度に旧平櫛田中邸にて上演した「THE鍵KEY」がサントリー芸術財団主催の「佐治敬三賞」を受賞いたしました！佐治敬三賞は音楽を主体とする公演のなかから、チャレンジ精神に満ちた企画で、かつ公演成果の水準が高い、優れた公演に贈られるものです。プレスリリースはこちらです（日本語版） 「THE鍵KEY」のみなさまのご協力あっての受賞だと思います。本当にありがとうございました！演奏者、制作チーム、プロジューサー、会場スタッフ、おめでとうございます！
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 I'm excited to announce that THE鍵KEY shall be making its UK debut at two London festivals this summer! London Festival of Architecture 'Crossing boundaries. Peering into private lives' Thursday 27th June, 6:30pm-9pm Powell Tuck Associates Studio, 6 Stamford Brook Rd, London W6 0XH Tickets can be bought here Powell Tuck Associates presents a talk and taster performance evening to provide insights of THE鍵KEY. An extract from the opera shall be performed and the panel will explore themes including how performing in a private house changes the experience of the audience and crosses the boundaries of public and private spaces. Speakers include Bill Bankes-Jones (Artistic Director and founder of Tête a Tête Opera Festival), Angus Shepherd (a director of Powell Tuck Associates who shall host THE鍵KEY performances in his house in August) and myself. Further details can be found here. Tête a Tête: The Opera Festival THE鍵KEY Performances Saturday 3rd August, 14:00-15:15 & 18:00-19:15 Sunday 4th August, 14:00-15:15 & 18:00-19:15 10 Tollgate Drive, SE21 7LS Tickets are SOLD OUT(!) but a space on the waiting list can be reserved here Collaborating with UK-based performers and staged in a British architect's private residence, the world of THE鍵KEY shall expand as we explore new possibilities and further explore the Western themes and influences inherent in this Anglo-Japanese work. The space THE鍵KEY is performed in is so integral to the work; audience members have told me they feel the house becomes a character itself. I'm very excited by the opportunities and challenges of working with our new 'character' 10 Tollgate Drive and the work's new context. THE鍵KEY is an official event of the Japan-UK Season of Culture Produced by The Kagi Project in partnership with Japan Foundation, Azuki Foundation/Mu Arts and Powell Tuck Associates (the designers and architects behind 10 Tollgate Drive). Supported by Arts Council Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture), Arts Council England, Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation and RWV Trust. In collaboration with Southbank Sinfonia and Whole Hog Theatre.
A sudden heatwave, an earthquake mid-performance, roads closed due to a presidential visit...but that didn't stop us! A massive thank you to all involved in making the 2019 Tokyo performances of THE鍵KEY a sell-out success: it was an absolute honour to work with you! Thank you to everyone who came to the performances; we received a wealth of positive feedback and it was a delight to engage with you and our guest speakers in our post-performance talks. More photos, videos, write-ups and more to follow! Watch this space for details on the UK leg of THE鍵KEY 2019 performances... Photos by Shintaro Sumimoto Tickets for all performances of THE鍵KEY have SOLD OUT! However, tickets may become available so do put your name on the WAITING LIST! Thank you to everyone who has shown interest in coming!
日時｜Dates ①2019年5月19日18時〜 2019/05/19 (sun): evening performance from 6pm 満席・WAITING LIST ONLY! ②2019年5月25日14時〜 2019/05/25 (sat): matinee performance from 2pm 満席・WAITING LIST ONLY! ③2019年5月26日14時〜 2019/05/26 (sun): matinee performance from 2pm 満席・WAITING LIST ONLY! ④2019年5月26日18時〜 2019/05/26 (sun): evening performance from 6pm 満席・WAITING LIST ONLY! 会場:平櫛田中邸・アトリエ、東京都台東区上野桜木2-20-3 Venue: Denchu Hirakushi House and Atelier 2-20-3 Ueno-sakuragi, Taito-ku,Tokyo チケット・All tickets: 4500円 主催｜「鍵」プロジェクト実行委員会/ Production: 'Kagi' Executive Committee 助成｜アーツカウンシル東京（公益財団法人東京都歴史文化財団)・芸術文化振興基金 Supported by: Arts Council Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture) and the Japan Arts Council (Japan Arts Fund) 協力｜岡山県井原市、上野桜木旧平櫛田中邸、NPO法人たいとう歴史都市研究会、一般社団法人谷中のおかって, Whole Hog Theatre Cooperation: Ibara City, Okayama Prefecture, Ueno-Sakuragi Denchu Hirakushi House and Atelier, NPO Taito Cultural and Historical Society, Arts management group 'Yanaka no Okatte', Whole Hog Theatre.
THE鍵KEY: A new site-specific, dramatic musical work inspired by Junichiro Tanizaki’s ‘The Key’ (1956) by composer and director Francesca Le Lohé. Read more about the work here.
作曲家・演出家フランチェスカ・レロイによる谷崎潤一郎の傑作長編小説「鍵」を主題にした音楽ドラマ。 詳細はこちら。 A massive thank you to Shun Onozawa for filming and editing this trailer of THE鍵KEY world premiere performance at Nakacho House, Tokyo, May 2018. A sound excerpt from THE鍵KEY can also be found here. Take a glimpse into the mysterious, secretive world of this strange family, told through a unique mixture of music, drama and dance. We are working towards further performances in Tokyo and beyond next year, so watch this space for a chance to experience THE鍵KEY first hand (perhaps for a second time!) Saturday 19th May 2018: the world premiere of THE鍵KEY at Nakacho House, Tokyo, Japan. Thank you to the fantastic performers, creative and production team, the premiere performances were truly successfull! The audience gave wonderful feedback, the performers worked incredibly hard (and enjoyed doing so!) and everyone wants to see further performances happen: in Tokyo and beyond! Thank you again to all those who have supported THE鍵KEY project; the Kickstarter donators, Otomachi project, The Mutomai fund, the audience members, the advice-givers, friends and family - it is all massively appreciated. Photos, recordings and more to come soon! And watch this space for further developments of THE鍵KEY!  Francesca with the WIfe trio: Yuri Kubota (cello), Atsumi Kojima (sho) and Akane Kudo (Wife: soprano) Photo: Shun Onozawa  THE鍵KEY: Cast & Crew! Photo: Shun Onozawa Kickstarter campaign launched! Please take a look, share and even contribute if you can! Any donation is incredibly appreciated! Flyers for the Tokyo premiere designed by Sonia Friel! Tickets can be reserved on the homepage.
Thursday 25th January, 1.10pm at the Helen Martin Studio, Warick Arts Centre: The fantastic George Barton (percussion) and Siwan Rhys (piano) shall be performing my piece 'Saida Portraits'. I'm delighted that they have decided to bring it to life once more: I originally wrote the piece for them in 2014 as part of the New Dots concert series which brought emerging composers and performers together to create exciting new contemporary performances. Their lunchtime concert promises to be a fascinating one, also featuring music by Reich, Skempton and John Luther Adams. www.gbsr.co.uk/concerts
Friday 25th August-Sunday 27th August, with the invaluable support of Naoya Yamashita and Takeshi Yoshida at Otomachi Arts Collective, I ran 3 days of R&D, including a test performance of 'THE鍵KEY' : a new site-specific, dramatic musical work (currently in progress) I am composing and directing.
It was such an incredibly exciting experience (and an honour!) to work with 12 inspirational and fantastic performers from diverse fields, to have the privilege to work once more with Alex Rutter (director of Whole Hog Theatre, working as choreographer on this project) and to have access to Tokyo University of the Arts (Senju Campus) and the beautiful venue, Nakacho House. I have learnt far more than I can currently process from this R&D: Many things worked really well, some not at all, I came to realise my strengths and weaknesses, the amount of ideas coming from everyone involved and from the audience's feedback was dizzying and exciting-there seems to be around 100 different ways this project could progress and develop! And that is what will happen next: progression and development. Ready for Tokyo performances in May 2018, aiming for UK performances soon after...Watch this space! The amazing performers: The Husband trio: Takashi Matsudaira (Baritone) Jin Rei (shakuhachi) Yukiko Siina (double bass) The Wife trio: Akane Kudo (soprano) Atsumi Kojima (sho) Yuri Kubota (cello) The Daughter trio: Yu Igarashi (mezzo-soprano/actress) Mikako Ogawa (kotsutsumi and shimedaiko: Japanese percussion) Kyouju Hiyakawa (violin) Kimura, The Lover trio: Rikki Metsugi (dancer) Kumiko Shuto (Biwa) Hiroko Miyake (clarinet) https://twitter.com/Kagi_TheKey |
