No. 2069 Subscription (Program A)

Fabio Luisi hails from Genoa. He first conducted the NHK Symphony Orchestra in 2001 and became its Chief Conductor in September 2022. He performed Verdi’s Requiem to celebrate his appointment, and Mahler’s Symphonie der Tausend for the orchestra’s 2000th subscription concert in 2023. In 2024, he led the orchestra’s Taiwanese tour, and then in May 2025, he successfully led its European tour scheduled in conjunction with Amsterdam’s Mahler Festival at The Concertgebouw, the Prague Spring Festival and the Dresdner Musikfestspiele: the NHK Symphony Orchestra was the first Asian orchestra to appear at the Mahler Festival, performing the composer’s Symphonies No. 3 and No. 4 to critical praise. In September 2028, he will become Honorary Conductor Laureate of the NHK Symphony Orchestra.
Currently he serves as the Principal Conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and the Music Director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and previously he was General Music Director of the Opernhaus Zürich, Principal Conductor of New York’s Metropolitan Opera, Chief Conductor of the Wiener Symphoniker, General Music Director of the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Sächsische Staatsoper, Principal Conductor and Chief Conductor of the MDR-Sinfonieorchester, Artistic Director of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Chief Conductor of the Tonkünstler Orchester and Artistic Director of the Grazer Symphonisches Orchester. He is also Music Director of Puglia’s Festival della Valle d’Itria Martina Franca and Emeritus Conductor of Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai. He is a frequent guest of leading orchestras including the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Saito Kinen Orchestra, opera houses and festivals worldwide.
In recording, his complete Nielsen symphonic cycle with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra was recognized with Limelight and Abbiati Awards in 2023, while its first volume was named Recording of the Year by Gramophone. He received a Grammy Award for his leadership of the last two operas of Wagner’s Ring cycle at the Metropolitan Opera, as released on DVD. His second CD with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Mahler: Symphony No. 5 will be released in September 2026.
He is an accomplished composer and maker of perfumes.

[Kumiko Nishi]

German tenor Michael Laurenz is acclaimed for his precise musical phrasing, compelling stage presence, and remarkable dramatic versatility. Born in Halle, he served as principal trumpet of the Berliner Symphoniker before turning to singing. From 2018 to 2020 he was a permanent member of the ensemble of the Wiener Staatsoper, with which he continues to maintain a close artistic relationship as a frequent guest.
A central focus of his career lies in the character tenor repertoire, with particular emphasis on roles in the works of Wagner, R. Strauss, Mozart, and contemporary composers. Numerous new productions and role debuts have taken him to major opera houses as well as to the Glyndebourne Festival and the Salzburger Festspiele. He has performed with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra under Fabio Luisi in concert performances of Das Rheingold and Siegfried as Mime. Collaborations with conductors such as Philippe Jordan, Christian Thielemann and Marc Minkowski and renowned stage directors have been formative in his artistic development.
For his NHK Symphony Orchestra debut, he will sing John (Johannes) for Franz Schmidt’s German oratorio Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln (The Book with Seven Seals), the role he had sung for the Orquesta Nacional de España directed by Fabio Luisi in November 2025.

[Kumiko Nishi]

Born in Bavaria, German sought-after bass David Steffens has been a member of the Staatsoper Stuttgart ensemble since the 2015/16 season, where he has appeared in a variety of roles, including as Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Heinrich der Vogler (Lohengrin), Hunding (Die Walküre), Fafner (Siegfried), Gurnemanz (Parsifal), Pimen (Boris Godunov), Der Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau (Der Rosenkavalier) and Jochanaan (Salome).
He appears as a guest on international opera stages including the Salzburger Festspiele, Staatsoper Berlin, Teatro Real, Semperoper Dresden, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, and the Dutch National Opera.
This season, in addition to appearing as Fasolt (Das Rheingold) at the Opernhaus Zürich and to giving his role debut as Hans Sachs (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) in Stuttgart, he collaborates with the Berliner Philharmoniker in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis under Kirill Petrenko, and with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Haydn’s Die Schöpfung (The Creation) under Philippe Jordan. Throughout his international career, he has worked with conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Kent Nagano and Simon Rattle.
He made his NHK Symphony Orchestra debut in 2023 performing Mahler’s Symphonie der Tausend under Fabio Luisi. This time, he will rejoin the orchestra as the Voice of God for Franz Schmidt’s German oratorio Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln (The Book with Seven Seals), the role he had sung for Fabio Luisi conducting the Wiener Symphoniker in September 2025.

[Kumiko Nishi]

Japanese soprano Miho Sakoda has risen to prominence with particular distinction as the title role of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. She successfully appeared in the role at the Fort Worth Opera in Texas in April 2026, the Opera in Williamsburg 2025 in Virginia, the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Opera 2024 (produced by Yutaka Sado) and the Savannah VOICE Festival 2023 in Georgia (USA).
Recently, she has been highly acclaimed as Mimi (La bohème) at the NISSAY OPERA, Flora (Orefice’s Chopin) at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan’s Music Program TOKYO, and the title role of Tosca at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan’s Opera BOX. A member of the Fujiwara Opera, she has received high praise playing various roles for the company, including Madama Butterfly, Countess (Le nozze di Figaro), Marguerite (Faust) and Violetta (La Traviata).
An active concert singer as well, she has regularly sung the soprano solo for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, alongside orchestras including the Tokyo, the Kanagawa and the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestras.
She graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts and completed the Suntory Hall Opera Academy’s Advanced Course. Among those who trained her are Kazuko Nakahata, Tasuku Naono, Mara Zampieri and Giuseppe Sabbatini. This is her first time performing with the NHK Symphony Orchestra.

[Kumiko Nishi]

Japanese mezzo soprano Asami Fujii studied singing in Pesaro, Italy after completing her master’s course at the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music and honing her vocal skills at the Opera Studio of the New National Theatre, Tokyo. Also trained in Nice, France and Amsterdam, the Netherlands, she won special awards at the Benvenuto Franci International Competition for Opera Singers and the International Competition of Teatro Besostri di Mede, Italy.
The years 2026 and 2027 see her singing Mercédès (Carmen) under Myung-Whun Chung, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 under Eiji Oue, Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) for the NISSAY OPERA and Annina (Der Rosenkavalier) for the New National Theatre, Tokyo.
A member of the Tokyo Nikikai, she made her debut with the opera company in 2019 garnering widespread acclaim as Suzuki in Amon Miyamoto’s production of Madama Butterfly. The company has since entrusted her with major roles including The Nurse (Die Frau ohne Schatten) and Flora (La traviata).
On concert stages, she has served as a soloist for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (under the baton of Seiji Ozawa at the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival 2015), Mozart’s Requiem, Dvořák’s Requiem and Mass in D major, Vivaldi’s Gloria and others. This is her first collaboration with the NHK Symphony Orchestra.

[Kumiko Nishi]

Japanese tenor Tatsundo Ito has been active in the field of opera. A member of the Tokyo Nikikai, he made his highly-praised debut with the company in 2016 as Brighella in Ariadne auf Naxos conducted by Simone Young and directed by Karoline Gruber. This was followed by his appearances with the company as roles including Parsifal (with Sebastian Weigle conducting the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra), The Emperor (Die Frau ohne Schatten) and Count Vaudémont (Jolanthe and the Nutcracker). In 2025, he reunited with Sebastian Weigle in Tokyo as Andres in Wozzeck (concert version).
He is also a frequent guest of other companies including the New National Theatre, Tokyo which has seen him as Daland’s steersman (Der fliegende Holländer) under Marc Albrecht and Alfred (Die Fledermaus) under Patrick Hahn, among others. Besides Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, his concert repertoire as a soloist includes Bach’s Johannes-Passion, Händel’s Messiah, and Orff’s Carmina Burana.
He polished his vocal abilities in Berlin in 2016, after completing his master’s course at the Tokyo University of the Arts and further studying at the Opera Studio of the New National Theatre, Tokyo. Among those who trained him are Tasuku Naono, Yasuko Takemura and Noriko Igarashi. This is his NHK Symphony Orchestra debut.

[Kumiko Nishi]

Japanese bass Hirotaka Kato is highly acclaimed for his voice with a deep, noble timbre. A graduate of the Tokyo University of the Arts, he completed his master’s course at the Johns Hopkins University Peabody Institute and his diploma program at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. While studying in the United States, he was an active opera singer and participated in the Aspen Music Festival for two consecutive years.
A member of the Tokyo Nikikai, he made his debut with the company as Il Grande Inquisitore in Don Carlo conducted by Gabriele Ferro and directed by David McVicar. For the company, he has since sung a variety of roles including Kaspar in Der Freischütz (directed by Peter Konwitschny) and Gurnemanz in Parsifal (with Sebastian Weigle conducting the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra). While performing for many other operatic companies and projects in the country, he sang Banco (Macbeth, concert style) as part of Riccardo Muti’s Italian Opera Academy in Tokyo 2021.
He is also a member of the Bach Collegium Japan founded by Masaaki Suzuki, and has been in high demand as a concert soloist singing most recently Mahler’s Symphonie der Tausend under Kahchun Wong. This is his NHK Symphony Orchestra debut.

[Kumiko Nishi]

Japanese organist Eri Niiyama is an organist of the ACT CITY Hamamatsu Hall in Shizuoka. She served as a vice-organist of the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre for three decades until March 2023.
She graduated from the Department of Instrumental Music (Organ Performance) at the Tokyo University of the Arts where she completed her master’s course as well. In 1983, she won the Second Prize at the 3rd Japan Organ Competition organized by the Japan Association of Organists. She devoted herself to further study at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Lille in France from which she graduated as a top student earning the Premier Prix (first prize) by a unanimous decision of the jury. She also gained opportunities to hone her performance skills at international academies especially held in Belgium, Spain and southern France.
In addition to giving organ recitals as well as collaborating with choirs and ensembles, she has frequently performed with and inside orchestras. Currently, she is a member of the Japan Association of Organists.

[Kumiko Nishi]

The New National Theatre Chorus began in April 1998, as an integral part of the theatre which opened in Tokyo the previous year as Japan’s only national theatre dedicated to opera, ballet, dance, and drama. Comprising over 100 male and female singers chosen in an open audition, the chorus continually expands its repertoire through the theatre’s diverse operatic productions. For its high-level vocal and acting ability, exceptional ensemble skills and powerful voice, it has earned high acclaim from not only media but also fellow performers, conductors and stage directors.
Outside its base, the chorus has worked with major Japanese orchestras as well as visiting opera companies and orchestras, such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Mariss Jansons, the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra under Valery Gergiev, the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Regio di Torino under Gianandrea Noseda, the Berliner Philharmoniker under Simon Rattle, and The Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst.
The chorus has built a great relationship with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, particularly singing Mahler’s Symphonie der Tausend for the orchestra’s landmark 2000th subscription concerts under Fabio Luisi in 2023. Most recently, the group joined the orchestra led by Leonard Slatkin for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in December 2025.

[Kumiko Nishi]