Chikara Imamura
Chikara Imamura “Samson et Dalila” Splendid perfect performance by Chikara Imamura. (Culture on line, Poland 06.04.2009) “Samson et Dalila” Performance that very elegant dignity by Imamura's conducting is filled. （Rzeczpospolita, 06.04.2009） Chikara Imamura, Regular Guest Conductor of the National Opera in Warsaw, conducted as a music director for premiere of “Samson et Dalila” with Antonello Palombi(Teatro Scala) and Edyta Kulczak( Metropolitan Opera) at the Opera Wroclaw in April 2009. Wroclaw Opera is well known, where conducted Carl Maria von Weber, Bruno Walter, Hans von Bu"low and Franz Liszt. This production is in coproduction with Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Ope'ra Royal de Wallnie Lie'ge, Fondazione Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi di Trieste, In 2009 Imamura conducted Mahler’s "Auferstehung Symphonie“, highlits of “Tanha"user” “Rigoretto”, “La traviata”, “Nabucco”, “Macbeth”, “Carmen”, “Die Fledermaus”, “Lustige Witwe” at the Machida City Opera and Tama Filharmonia. He conducted also das Bla"ser Ensemble der Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, In 2008 he conducted “Madama Butterfly” at the Stara Zagora State Opera in Bulgaria, “La Boheme” at the Kuntachi Opera and the Gakushuin Opera, highlits of “Edgar” “Semiramide” “L’elisir d’amore” “Don Pasquale” “Otello” “Don Carlos” “Il baribiere di Seviglia” “I Capleti ed i Montecchi” at the Tama Filharmonia. In 2007 he conducted at the National Opera in Warsaw “Madama Butterfly”, the 12th Lutoslawski Forum Opening Concert at the Warsaw Philharmonic, Krakow Philharmonic and Silesian Philharmonic in Poland. Imamura is conducting since 2002 - 2010 at the National Opera in Warsaw as the associate and regular guest conductor. He conducted "Madama Butterfly" “Don Giovanni” and “Japanese Evening 2008 & 2010” at the National Opera in Warsaw. He also conducted in 2000 and 2001 “Madama Butterfly” at the National Reisopera in Netherland, the Netherland Dance Theatre in Den Haag, the Lodz Grand Theatre in Poland, also in Amsterdam and in Rotterdam. He conducted “Sonezaki-Shinju” at the Spoleto Opera--Teatro Lilico Sperimentale “A Belli” in Italy and at the National Theatre Opera in Japan in 2005, “Kogetsuden” at the Tokyo Globe Theatre in 2006. He conducted “Le nozze di Figaro” “Don Giovanni” “Cosi` fan tutte” as music director of the Kunitachi Opera from 1996-2008. He also conducted hilights of “Turandot” “Tosca” “Gianni Schicchi” “Edgar” “Cavalleria rusticana” “I pagliacci” “Aida” “L'elisir d'amore” “Don Pasquale” “Carmen” “Die Fledermaus” “Gra"fin Mariza” “Fidelio” “Lulu” “Rusalka” “Ha"sel und Gretel” “Die Zauberflo"ｔe” “Der Rosenkavalier” “Salome” “Capriccio” “Tristan und isolde” “Die Meistersinger” “Der Ring” “Lohengrin”. He conducted the regular concert of the Konzerthaus Berlin in 2000 and German concert-tour of the Sinfonia Varsovia in 2005. He was the resident conductor of the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa (1989-90) , Principal Conductor of the Tokyo Harmonia Chamber Orchestra (1990-96), Chief-Conductor of the Kunitachi Opera(1996-2008) and Nara Chamber Orchestra (since 1996-), Music Director of the Tama Philharmonic Society-Tokyo (since 2004-) and Conductor of the Tokyo Chamber Opera (since 2005-) . Imamura conducted all of the distinguished European and Japanese orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Orchestra Filharmonico della Scala Milan, Orchestra della RAI Milan, Vienna Philharmonic Bla"ser Ensemble, Salzburger Dom Mozarteum Orchestra, North German Philharmonic Rostock, Helsinki Philharmonic, Praha Virtuosi, Karlsbad Symphony, Warsaw Philharmonic, Polish Radio Symphony in Katowice, Sinfonia Varsovia, Lithuanian National Symphony, NHK Symphony, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, Tokyo Symphony, Tokyo Philharmonic, Japan Philharmonic, New Japan Philharmonic, Osaka Philharmonic and Sapporo Symphony. Chikara Imamura was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1954 and completed a multi-faceted musical education in piano, vocal, instrument and composition. He studied at the Kunitachi College of Music and Tohogakuen in Tokyo. In 1972 he began to study conducting with Masamitsu Takahashi and from 1976 with Seiji Ozawa and Professor Franco Ferrara. During this period, he conducted the orchestra and opera of the Tohogakuen College of Music, Tokyo Radio Chorus and NHK TV-Opera. >From 1976 -1978 he held the position of Conductor of the Tokyo Academic Chorus and Jeunesses Musicales of Japan. Having received 3rd prize at the Herbert von Karajan conducting competition Japan in 1977, Imamura came one year later to Europe, participating in the Orchestra Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic from 1978-81. In 1978 and 79, he also attended master classes with Milan Horvat and Dieter-Gerhard Worm at the Salzburg Summer Academy, where he conducted the concluding concert in 1979. He was assistant to the 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic. In 1980 he was finalist at the Guido Cantelli Conducting Competition in Milan and in 1983 he was first prize and special prize from the National Opera in Warsaw at the 2nd Grzegorz Fitelberg Competition for Conductors. He has made numerous recordings for EMI, BIS, Deutsche Telefunken, King Record, as well as live broadcasts for various radio and television stations including NHK, TV Asahi and NTV Japan. Imamura has collaborated with a number of distinguished soloists including Sheila Armstrong, John Shirley-Quirk, David Rendall, Antonello Palombi, Steven Harrison, Jo"rg Demus, Patrick Gallois, Michala Petri, Peter Damm, Radvan Vlatkovic and Christian Lindberg. Since 1995, he has also been teaching conducting at the Kunitachi College of Music in Tokyo. He was a member of jury of the 6th and 7th Fitelberg International Competition for Conductors in Poland.
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