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Glass Mask's In-Story Play 'The Crimson Goddess' Gets Real-World Adaptation in 2020
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
The legendary masterpiece play "Kurenai Tennyo" ("The Crimson Goddess") from Suzue Miuchi's Glass Mask (Glass no Kamen) manga is receiving a new real-world adaptation. The Japan Opera Foundation announced on Thursday that a "creative opera" adaptation will run at Bunkamura Orchard Hall in Tokyo from January 10-15. Miuchi tweeted a sketch for the announcement.
速報オペラ『紅天女』
— 美内すずえ (@miuchibell) July 19, 2018
2020年1月に『ガラスの仮面』作中劇『紅天女』が、創作オペラとして上演が決定しました。つきましては出演歌手を広く公募
。詳細はまもなく発表。楽しみにお待ち下さいねpic.twitter.com/8d9VwUNDZA
In Glass Mask, Maya Kitajima and Ayumi Himekawa are young, aspiring stage actresses aiming to star in "The Crimson Goddess." The seasoned actress Chigusa Tsukikage mentors them to become her successor in the lead role.
Miuchi herself is writing the script, and Tamiya Terashima is composing the music. Tatsuji Iwata is directing the creative opera. Ryūichirō Sonoda is conducting, and the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra is performing the music. The Japan Opera Foundation is holding open auditions, and an application for is available on the organization's website. People who want to apply can mail or fax the completed application form with a photograph.
A shinsaku Noh (modern Noh play) adaptation of "The Crimson Goddess" debuted at the National Noh Theatre in Tokyo in 2006, and performances have been held throughout Japan. Plays within the Glass Mask story to previously receive stage play adaptations in the real world include "Onna Kaizoku Bianca" (Pirate Woman Bianca) in 2015, "Wasurerareta Kōya ~Ōkami Shōjo Jane~" (The Forgotten Wasteland ~Jane the Wolf Girl~) in 2017, and "Tōriame" (A Passing Rain) this past April. The original manga has also inspired various stage adaptations since the first stage musical debuted in 1979. The most recent play ran in Tokyo and Osaka in 2016.
Sources: Japan Opera Foundation's website, Suzue Miuchi's Twitter account, Comic Natalie, Stage Natalie
