Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall will hold an opera for small children (5 years and older) to commemorate 150 years since the opening of Yokohama's port.
Performed by soprano singer Etsuko Yamada, this so-called mono-opera will be directed by Yumiko Akami, with pianist Michiko Fukushima.
The opera is titled "The Christmas Story — Am I Santa Claus!?" and is set on Christmas Eve. Yamada acts as a girl who owns a black cat. During her performance, she looks for the missing cat and gets lost in a forest. While there, she finds a mysterious house and enters it. She soon realizes it is one of the homes of Santa Claus. The opera will feature classic Christmas songs such as "O Christmas Tree," "White Christmas," "Winter Wonderland" and "Jingle Bells."
"The Christmas Story — Am I Santa Claus!?" will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 24 at Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall. Tickets cost ¥500 for 5-year-old children and primary school students and ¥1,000 for junior high school students and older. Tickets are available at Pia (0570) 02-9999 and at Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall Ticket Center (045) 682-2000. For more information, visit www.yaf.or.jp/mmh/