Jury

ICHIHARA Taro

Japan/ Tenor

Born in Sakata City, Yamagata Prefecture. Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts and its graduate school. Studied under Chie Kato, Keiko Kanauchi, and Takanosuke Watanabe.
 
Won First Prize at the 48th Mainichi Music Competition (now named “the Music Competition of Japan”). Won First Prize at the 15th Nichii Concorso (Japan-Italy Vocal Competition).
 
After active work as a soloist in religious works such as Beethoven's Symphony No.9 and Handel's Messiah, made his opera debut in 1980 singing the title role in the Nikikai production of Werther. Traveled to Europe in 1981, studying under Georges Favaret at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome. That same year won 2nd Prize (no 1st Prize awarded) and the AMAL Prize at the 21st Verdi International Competition, and won the Grand Prize (1st Prize) at the 19th Francisco Viñas International Competition, along with the Best Tenor Award and the Verdi Award.
 
In 1982, ICHIHARA Taro made his international opera debut as Calaf in Turandot at the São Carlos Opera House in Lisbon. In 1984, he became the first Japanese singer to perform at the Salzburg Festival, singing the role of Malcolm in Verdi's Macbeth. He also made his debut at the Paris Opera as a Japanese male singer in “Macbeth.” During the 1984-1985 season, he set the record for the most leading tenor roles performed in a single season in the history of the Paris Opera. Subsequently, in the United States, he served as the leading tenor for seven consecutive seasons at the Metropolitan Opera (“Un ballo in maschera,” “Rigoletto,” “Lucia di Lammermoor,” Tosca, Der Rosenkavalier) and appeared at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and others. In Italy, he has performed at La Scala in Milan, the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, the Teatro Regio in Turin, and the Teatro dell'Opera di Bologna. He has also appeared at the Hamburg State Opera and the Opernhaus Köln in Germany; the Opéra de Lyon and the Opéra de Nice in France; the Festival d'Orange Summer Music Festival; and the Teatro Colón in Argentina. the Festival d'Orange, and Argentina's Teatro Colón. In Japan, since his triumphant return performance in Fujiwara Opera Company's “Un ballo in Maschera” (1986) following his international debut, he has been invited to numerous opera and concert engagements. These include many productions with the Fujiwara Opera Company, performances at the New National Theatre, Japan, the Hamburg State Opera's Japan tour, regular concerts with major orchestras, and recitals. In 2003, he earned critical acclaim as a soloist in Verdi's “Requiem” at the NHK International Music Festival, conducted by Riccardo Chailly with the Milan Giuseppe Verdi Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
 
ICHIHARA Taro received the Arts Selection Award (Minister of Education's New Artist Award) and the Jiro Opera Grand Prize in 1987 and was honored with the Sakata City Special Merit Award in 1990.
Collaborating with renowned conductors such as Solti, Chailly, Mehta, and Maazel, he captivates audiences worldwide with his overwhelmingly beautiful voice and expressive power, embodying the orthodox bel canto tradition.