Hiroko Shiraishi made her first operatic debut as Countess in “Le Nozze di Figaro” in Tokyo. She was awarded the Rotary International Scholarship and studied at the Wiener Musikhochschule, where she graduated with Distinction. Her Professors included Grossmann, Swarowsky, Werba, KS.Güden, as well as Guarini in Milan. In 1974 she won prizes in distinguished international competitions in Munich (ARD), Barcelona (Viñas) and Busseto (Verdi), and began her international career in Austria, BRD, DDR, Yugoslavia, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Japan. In 1976, she became the first Japanese singer to be awarded a permanent contract with The Wiener Staatsoper, where she performed with conductors such as Dohnányi, Erede, Patané, Stein, Domingo, and G.Albrecht; and singers such as Nilsson, Arroyo, Ludwig, Cosotto, Schreier, Jerusalem, Araiza, Berry, Ghiaurov, Nesterenko and many others.
In addition to performing in the1980 Japan tour of “Elektra”. She was invited to major theatres including Innsbruck, Geneve, Prague, Barcelona, and Leipzig, where she played the title role of “Madame Butterfly” as well as Mimi in “La Bohème.” Her other successful repertoires include roles as Countess Rosina, Pamina, Margarethe, Frau Flut, Violetta, Desdemona, Liù, Turandot and Chrysothemis. She has performed in many orchestra concerts, with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Ensemble Kontrapunkte, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, ORF Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, NHK Symphony Orchestra with Blomstedt, New Japan Symphony Orchestra with Seiji Ozawa, and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra with De Burgos. Her performance with Nicolai Gedda with the Tokyo Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra was reviewed as “long to be remembered.”
Her performance in 2003 as Madame Butterfly in Prague National Theatre was received with outstanding critiques. She also has been making active performances on television and radio, including ORF, SDR, ZDF, ARD and NHK. She has performed in recitals which total in excess of 160 in Japan and Europe, including Austria, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and Yugoslavia. In 2007, her recital in Tokyo was performed with the presence of Her Majesty the Empress of Japan, and the Ambassador of Austria, Stefan-Bastl. She has a uniquely wide-ranged repertoir, ranging from Passions, Masses, Vespri, Cantatas, Requiems, 9th Symphony (Beethoven) and Lieder by Bach, Hendel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Verdi, Tosti, Faué, Mahler, R. Strauss, Schönberg, Berg and Robert Schollum. Her Solo CD recordings include Lieders of Schubert, Schumann, Richard Strauss, Mozart, Wolf, Brahms, Mahler, and 5 live recordings of her recitals.
She passed away in March 20, 2018. |