Venue: Kudan House, Tokyo (https://kudan.house/)
Date: 20 & 21 March 2025
“Immersive Opera” is a new kind of experiential opera entertainment where performers and audience members become one, together creating the stage experience.
This production of La Traviata at Kudan House (a registered tangible cultural property) marks the Japan premiere of this format.
In the historic Japanese-Western fusion space of Kudan House, the 19th-century Parisian story of La Traviata is reimagined and brought to life in a Japanese setting. The story unfolds across various rooms, and the audience moves together with the performers, physically experiencing the love and fragility of Violetta’s tale.
Going forward, the project plans to utilize unique venues such as historic buildings, shrines, and temples, developing this as a new initiative that promotes regional revitalization through performing arts.
Ticket prices: By donations
https://immersive-opera-20250320.peatix.com/
TEAM
Stage Director
TetsuTaoshita
Renowned opera and theatre director specified in immersive and site-specific opera production. Since 2000, he has directed and written theatre works both in Japan and internationally, covering operas, musicals, and plays. His experience also includes directing traditional Japanese arts like Noh and Kabuki theatre. From 2004 to 2009, he served as head of house directors at the New National Theatre, Tokyo. His European credits include co-directing and choreographing Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci at Zurich Opera, and in New York, he assisted Bartlett Sher on the new musical The Woman on the Verge of Nervous Breakdown.
Music Director & Electone player- Natsuko Nishioka
Electone player
Graduated from Tokyo Conservatoire Shobi. Mainly opera, she has participated in performances by various groups such as the New National Theatre.
Since 2014 she has been teaching master classes in Japan and China. As a composer and arranger, she has written works such as the piano arrangement version (whole tone) of the suite "Carmen", the albums "TRINITY" and "Landscapes". Contract player for Yamaha Corporation.
Costume Designer
Hana Chiiyo
Costumes, Hair & Makeup Floral Designer
In 1996, studied floral design in Paris and obtained the qualification "DAFA" from the French National Horticultural Association.
In 2000, after returning to Japan, she was active in a wide range of fields, including styling commercials and movies, stage design, and flower school management. She also designed the floral decoration for the official banquet of the 2008 G8 Summit in Lake Toya.
CAST
Violetta Valerie (high-class geisha) :
Emma Aoki
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music. She starred in "La Traviata," "Madame Butterfly," "Tosca," "La Bohème," and "Carmen”, "The Queen of Czardash", Cherubino in "The Marriage of Figaro", Orlovsky in "The Bat" and others. Musical "Kimichiru".
Alfredo Germont (son of a good family) :
Sho Ota
Graduated from the Department of Vocal Music, Faculty of Music, Tokyo University of the Arts. Completed a master's program in opera at the Graduate School of Music.
Past opera roles include "The Elixir of Love" (as Nemorino) and "The Merry Widow" (as Camille), and in musicals, such as "West Side Story" (as Tony). He formed the vocal unit SiriuS with Shuntaro Tanaka and made his major debut from Japan Columbia.
Giorgio Germont (Alfredo's father):
Toru Onuma
Graduated from Tokai University's College of Liberal Arts and completed its graduate school. The 21st Goto Memorial Culture Award for New Face Award in the Opera Division.
Belcole in "The Elixir of Love" at the New National Theatre, the title role in "Macbeth" at the Nissei Theatre, and Wolfram in "Tannhäuser" in the Tokyo Second Stage.
[Assistant Producer] Kotaro Jinushi
[Partner] Toho Leo Corporation
[Supporter] Fujisan Winery Ltd.
Review
In recent years, immersive experiences have taken the art world by storm. Japan led the way in March 2025 with the world’s first immersive opera, brilliantly reimagining Verdi’s La Traviata in the Taisho era at Kudan House near Kagurazaka. By blending the rich history and unique character of Kudan House with the opera’s timeless tragic love story, the audience connects deeply, discovering why La Traviata has touched hearts for over 170 years. - AdvancedTime
After this event, a Kyoto version was introduced in Nov 2025.
Venue: Kyoto Ohara Sanso, Kyoto
Date: 2025-11-21 & 22 (2 shows)