The work of Japanese composer Toshio Hosokawa is a chamber opera on the theme of waiting. The libretto is based on the play of the same name by Yukio Mishima, in which the author refers to the tradition of Japanese theatre.
The story is about the geisha Hanako, who has been waiting for the return of her beloved Yoshio for years. However, the wait has dragged her into a world of madness, to the point that when the beloved reappears, she does not recognize him. The reality does not match the image she had made of Yoshio all those years ago. The composer Hosokawa has been able to probe the boundaries between madness and reason, transposing a seemingly simple story into a canvas of changing sounds between a dreamy lightness and harsh reality. The score is developed by drawing a sound carpet that accompanies the painful process of transformation of the protagonist, the central theme of Hanjo.
- Conductor: Marco Angius
- Direction and Choreography: Luca Veggetti
- Lights and Scenography: Clifton Zachariah Taylor
- Costumes: Peter Speliopoulos
- Visual Design: Moe Yoshida, Hanako, Eri Nakamura
- Mezzosoprano: Abigail Elizabeth Fischer, Yoshio, Adam Ryan Richardson
- Dance: Alice Raffaelli
