Jury

HAMADA Rie

Japan/ Soprano, Vocal Coach- Opera Studio, New National Theatre, Tokyo

HAMADA Rie graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts. After she has completed the same university’s graduate school program, she moved to Paris and studied under Isabel GARCISANZ for the vocal music and Irene AITOFF for “mélodie” (the French art song). She made her opera debut in 1991 at Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris in “Ariane et Barbe-Bleue” of Paul Dukas. She won first prize, as well as diction, Spanish music and the best performance prizes at the International Singing Competition by UFAM. In 1992, she won first prize in the opera category at the Paris International Singing Competition. In this year, she was also acclaimed for her outstanding performance in Honegger’s“Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher”, conducted by CHUNG Myung-Whun at Opéra National de Paris, Bastille. She has been subsequently performing in numerous operas, such as Puccini’s “La Bohème”, “Turandot” and “Madama Butterfly”, Mozart’s “La clemenza di Tito”, Gounod’s “Faust”, Verdi’s “Don Carlo”, Debussy’s “Pelléas et Mélisande”, Bizet’s “Carmen” and so forth. She was awarded the Idemitsu Music Awards in 1992. She is currently based in France and a lecturer at Ochanomizu University. A former associate professor at Tokyo University of the Arts.