Believe it or not, opera can be fun and you don't need to deplete your bank account to pay for tickets. On June 24, Natalie Choquette is coming to Tokyo to prove it.
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You'll love this talented Canadian coloratura soprano with a magnificent voice and absurd sense of humor -- a cross between Kiri Te Kanawa and Steve Martin. But make no mistake, the music is as superb as her comedy.
A daughter of diplomats, she studied voice around the world from Moscow to Rome to Montreal, where she began her career with the Choeurs de l'Opera and the Societe de Music Contemporain du Quebec. On a dare in 1993, she introduced her first comic diva, La Fettucine, and has continued to make audiences laugh ever since.
Choquette's diva personae ("endangered vocal species") are as varied as her repertoire. She kicks off her shoes, stretches out on the sofa and applies fake nails to Gershwin's "Summertime." As Fraulein Wiener Von Sausage, she announces, "Dies ist eine Feminist aria!" and transforms into the Queen of the Night with a "heart seething in hellish vengeance." She shuffles on stage as Chocho-san ("Kono chichi wawa, minna-sama!") and begins a heartbreaking performance of "Un Bel Di" from "Madame Butterfly." Best of all, she can slurp pasta and gargle red wine through Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" without missing a note.
June's program shows great promise and combines operatic arias by Puccini, Bizet, Verdi and Offenbach with popular tunes by Rogers & Hammerstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Vangelis. NoaH Corp. has discounted tickets so you can afford to bring your family.