Knights' Tale

In Symphonic Concert

10th August 2020

Geigeki Theatre (Tokyo), Opera City (Tokyo)

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This was a concert presentation of the musical Knights’ Tale performed over ten days in August 2020, at Geigeki Concert Hall and Opera City. It was mounted during the Covid crisis, when proper stage performances were banned in Japan and indeed all around the world.

These concerts managed to keep public awareness of the show alive while we planned for a full revival of the show in the autumn 2021.

The concert had to be carefully formatted in order to be Covid-aware, with spaces between all the audience seats, solo performers segregated from one another in perspex partitions, and a warning to the audieence not to laugh or cheer!

It was nonetheless a resounding success, a triumph in adversity.

Knights' Tale

Book by John Caird
Music & Lyrics by Paul Gordon
Japanese Book and Lyrics byMaoko Imai
Musical Supervision, Orchestrations and Arrangements byBrad Haak
Based on
Teseidaby Giovanni Boccaccio
The Knights' Taleby Geoffrey Chaucer
Two Noble Kinsmenby John Fletcher and William Shakespeare

Music

Vocal Supervisor山口琇也
Japanese Music Arrangement佐藤三昭
ConductorYuji Wakabayashi
OrchestraTokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
Concertmaster依田真宣

Cast

The performance was played on an open stage with perspex cubicles for the soloists, who had to remain distanced from one another at all times. The choir sat in a gallery above the orchestra.
ArciteKoichi Domoto
PalamonYoshio Inoue
EmiliaKei Otozuki
Jailor's DaughterMone Kamishiraishi
TheseusYuji Kishi
HippolytaKaho Shinada
Creon/GeraldKenya Osumi
Queen 1Ririko Nanase
Queen 2Ikuyo Aoyama
Queen 3Motoko Orii
Female ChoirTakai Mizuno, Sayaka Kobayashi, Aki Tomita, Azusa Hara
Male ChoirNoriyuki Konishi, Kyohei Kanda, Tatsuya Ueki, Daisuke Kawashima, Toshiki Hirose, Yoshihisa Higuchi, Hayata Furukawa
Forest Musicians
Wadaiko (Japanese drum)Tetsuro Naito
ShamisenReika Matsuhashi
Shinobue (Japanese flute)Tomoko Takeda
Shakuhachi (Japanese flute) Akihito Obama
DrumsYasuo Tan
GuitarNoboru Yoshioka
BassRyosui Ozasa
KeyboardKosuke Kaneko
Tokyo Philharmonic OrchestraConducted by Yuji Wakabayashi

Production Staff

DirectorJohn Caird
Set Designer中根聪子
Lighting Designer中川隆一
Sound Designer本間俊哉
Video Designer栗山聡之
Assistant Director齋藤安彦
Orchestra岩崎井織 / 大谷絵梨奈 / 大田淳志 / 森岡孝夫 / 千葉 健 / 松倉信弥 / 糠信 巖
CopyistAndy Collopy 
Keyboard Programmer古賀敬一郎
Rehearsal Pianist問野亮子
Associate Sound Designer秋山斎裕
Production Manager上田光成 / 北條孝演
Assistant Stage Manager北林勇人 / 福田雅 / 大黒靖彰 / 馬淵だいき / 武藤陽子
Interpreters今井麻緒子 / 内藤章子
Assistant Producer村上奈実
Producer齋藤安彦 / 塚田淳一
Props made by打越 裕/ 秋山真梨子(東宝舞台)
Lighting Operators齋藤拓人 / 林美保 / 横田幸子 / 吉田博美 / 大竹真由美
Sound Operators増原健市 / 坂野剛 / 澤真也子 / 坂元 啓 / 松田明里
Video Operators榎本幹雄 / 山田高志 / 邱 暁蕾 / 森 隆太 / 榎本吉雄 / 大八木滋 / 山田大介 / 岩田茂樹
Instruments provided by岸 拓央(三響社)
Wadaiko provided by浅野太鼓
Transportation加藤運輸
Rehearsal locations新宿村スタジオ / 東京芸術劇場リハーサルルーム / 東京オペラシティリハーサルルーム

Programme Staff

Directed byReiko Konishi
Designed byShigeru Komai (ye11ow graphic studio japan)
PhotographersJunji Ishiguro / Shunpei Tauchi (TOHO MARKETING Co.,Ltd.)
WriterKanae Uda
EditorRyoko Takahashi
Printed bySeio Printing Co., Ltd