Faculty

HAGIHARA Rika

Associate Professor

Department of Intercultural Studies

E-mail　r-hagihara@suac.ac.jp
Research Keywords：
Corago, Italian Opera Libretti, Early Modern Italian Theatre

Degrees	Ph.D., Tokyo University of the Arts (2015) M.A. (Music), Tokyo University of the Arts (2008) B.A., Nihon University College of Art (2003)
Selected Professional Experiences	Assistant, Tokyo University of the Arts (2016/4-2021/3) Part-time Lecturer, Musashino Academia Musicae (2019/4-) Part-time Lecturer, Yokohama City University (2023/4-2025/9) Part-time Lecturer, Institute of Science Tokyo (2025/4-2025/9) Associate Professor, Shizuoka University of Art and Culture (2026/4-)
Research Fields	Italian Culture, Italian Opera
Major Publications	Korago: Opera Reimei-ki no Butai Jouen Sekininsya [Il Corago: responsabile della messainscena agli albori dell’opera lirica]. Tokyo: Hosei University Press, 2025. (in Japanese) "Barokku Opera niokeru Prologue no Kinou to sono Engekiteki-ighi" [The Function and Theatrical Significance of the Prologue in Baroque Opera]. in SATO Suguru, ONISHI Yuki, OKAMOTO Yoshiko, HAGIHARA Rika and MORIMOTO Yoriko eds. Opera Ongakugheki Kenkyu no Saizensen [The Frontiers of Opera and Music Theatre]. Tokyo: Suiseisya. pp. 37-61. 2026. (in Japanese) "Academiy niyoru Butai Geijutu heno Torikumi" [The Accademia’s Contribution to the Performing Arts: Another Aspect of the Emergence of Opera]. in SATO Suguru, ONISHI Yuki, OKAMOTO Yoshiko eds. Opera Ongakugheki Kenkyu no Genzai [Opera and Music Theatre Studies Today]. Tokyo: Suiseisya. pp. 15-36. 2021. (in Japanese)
Academic Organizations	The Musicological Society of Japan Associazione di Studi Italiani in Giappone

Message

I specialize in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Italian opera and theatrical culture. My research examines how early opera emerged as a complex art form and how stage performance was intertwined with society, politics, and everyday life. Drawing on archival sources, opera libretti, and contemporary theoretical writings, I explore the cultural and intellectual contexts in which opera was created and received.

During my graduate studies, I studied at the University of Bologna, where I deepened my engagement with Italian cultural and theatrical traditions. I received my Ph.D. from the Tokyo University of the Arts in 2015.

My monograph on Il Corago: responsabile della messa in scena agli albori dell’opera lirica (in Japanese) was awarded the 24th Premio Internazionale Flaiano di Italianistica – Luca Attanasio – for its contribution to Italian studies and early modern theatre research.

Education