Sakiko and Manon

Sakiko began her opera career in Germany in 1969 at the Städtische Bühnen Essen. She sang her first major role there as Norina in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, and the following season appeared several times in the same role at the Stadttheater Hildesheim. Following those Hildesheim performances, the theater approached her for 1971-1972 with the idea of creating a completely new production. What would she like to sing?

When Sakiko had been a student Juilliard, the soprano Beverly Sills was at the height of her career with the New York City Opera. Two of Sills’ most famous roles were Cleopatra in Handel’s Giulio Cesare and Manon in Massenet’s Manon. Both operas had been infrequently performed until then and Sills had been influential in bringing them back into standard repertoire.

In Hildesheim, when the theater made its proposal to Sakiko, she considered both Giulio Cesare and Manon – and chose the latter. The challenges appeared almost immediately. The theater was not familiar with Manon. No one there could remember ever having seen it. The Berlin Hofoper had mounted the first German production in 1903, but the opera had not been performed often since then. Sakiko was told later that the Hildesheim production was the first one in Germany since the end of World War II.

Furthermore, in the early 1970s, most operas at medium- and small-sized German theaters were sung in German. The score that Sakiko used was in French/English and she wrote the German words above the staff in pencil. The premiére took place in September 1971. Media critics were clearly interested in such a seldom-performed opera and reviews were very positive. Sakiko sang Manon 10-15 times that season in Hildesheim and 10-15 more times in 1972-1973 in Hagen. Manon is now part of standard repertoire in most German opera houses.

After Sakiko died in 2004, we found several cassette tapes in an old box in our garage. Among them were two tapes of the Hildesheim premiére, as well as other tapes from Hagen.

To listen to the entire opera, click on the “Play All” button below. Or to listen to a specific track, scroll through the menu and click on your choice. Sakiko’s main arias (sung in German) are listed by name (in French).

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