Mitsuko 

COMPOSER - Frank Wildhorn 

LYRICIST - Jack Murphy 

LIBRETTO - Shuichiro Koike

SYNOPSIS:

The show focuses on Mitsuko Aoyama (1874-1941), who was the first Japanese woman to marry a westerner. In 1892, she married the Austro-Hungarian ambassador, Count Heinrich Coudenhove-Kalergi. Almost five years later they moved to Austria, where their family would grow to include seven children. Following Heinrich's death in 1906, Mitsuko stayed in Vienna to provide the best opportunities possible for their children. Their second son, Richard Nikolaus, became the founder of the first movement for a unified Europe, editing the "Paneuropa" journal and publishing a manifesto of the same name. Mitsuko is therefore sometimes referred to as "the mother of European unification." She remained in Vienna even through anti-Japanese sentiments during the First World War, and until her own death in 1941.

PRODUCTION HISTORY:

Material from the show was premiered at the "Mitsuko Musical Concert" in Vienna on Friday, 9 December. Ten selections from the show were performed by Uwe Kröger (as Heinrich), Maki Ichiro (as Mitsuko) and Yoshio Inoue (as Richard). They were backed by the Musical Festival Orchestra Vienna, conducted by Adrian Manz. Most of the songs were performed in German, with translations by Ulrich Peters, while the rest were presented in English. The concert also included selections from Jekyll & Hyde and other shows. The event, which was produced by Kyodo Tokyo, took place at Museumsquartier-Halle.