4711 – Intercourse of Ghosts

4711 – Intercourse of Ghosts is a unique, multilingual opera reimagining the correspondence between Jewish novelist Franz Kafka and Czech journalist Milena Jesenská. Between 1920 and 1923, Kafka wrote over 120 letters to Jesenská, and although her replies were destroyed, her impact on his work is profound. This opera blends fragments of their letters with themes of isolation, cultural identity, and Kafka’s “impossibility of writing,” all set against the backdrop of post-WWI Europe.

The libretto intertwines German, Czech, English, and Japanese, creating an immersive experience that challenges the audience’s comfort and invites active listening. The score features shakuhachi and shamisen, instruments tied to marginalized Japanese communities, along with field recordings of carrion crows whose calls suggest a form of non-human language. The opera also explores Jesenská’s tragic fate: after being captured by the Gestapo and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp, she was tattooed with the number 4714, leading to the nickname "4711" among fellow prisoners, referencing the popular eau de cologne 4711 Echt Kölnisch Wasser.

Join 1014 and the Czech Center New York as composers Hiroya Miura and Carl Bettendorf, together with Hidejiro Honjoh, Akihito Obama and Annabelle Plum, perform the shared intimate experiences of two individuals living on society's margins.

Biographies:

Hiroya Miura (三浦寛也), a native of Sendai, Japan, has been active as a composer and performer in North America. Acclaimed by Allan Kozinn of New York Times as “acidic and tactile,” Miura’s compositions explore “the continuous change of balance” amongst the traditions, players, instruments, and sound objects. He was awarded Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Arts and Literary Arts residency, la Napoule Art Foundation residency, HB Studio Residency, and Willapa Bay AiR residency, amongst others.

He is also a founding member of the electronic improvisation unit, No One Receiving, and has studied piano and composition at l’Ecole de musique Vincent d’Indy and McGill University. Miura holds D.M.A. degree from Columbia University, and is Associate Professor of music at Bates College, where he teaches music theory and composition, and directs the college orchestra. He is Artistic Director of Columbia University’s IMJS/Japanese Cultural Heritage Initiatives, and serves on Advisory Board for the Composers Conference.

Carl Christian Bettendorf is a New York-based composer/conductor. Born in Hamburg, Germany, he studied composition with Hans-Jürgen von Bose and Wolfgang Rihm in Munich and Karlsruhe before moving to New York, where he received his doctorate in Composition from Columbia University studying under Tristan Murail.

As a conductor, Mr. Bettendorf has worked closely with ensembles in New York (Wet Ink, counter)induction, Talea Ensemble) and abroad (piano possibile in Munich, Ostravská banda in the Czech Republic) and is currently director of the Manhattanville College Community Orchestra (Purchase, NY). He recently conducted opera productions at Bard College and at the Opéra national de Montpellier (France), where he lead the French premiere of Elliott Carter’s What Next?. In addition, he has served as assistant conductor for the Columbia University and American Composers orchestras, Miller Theatre, and the Munich Biennale. Bettendorf has recorded for the Albany, ArtVoice, Carrier, Cybele, Hat Hut, and Tzadik labels. His music has been broadcast on German, Swiss, Canadian, U.S. and Australian radio.

Shamisen virtuoso Hidejiro Honjoh has performed with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Krasnoyarsk Chamber Orchestra, Baltic Neopolis Virtuosi, and Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, and was the first shamisen player to be featured as a solo recitalist at London’s Wigmore Hall. He has also collaborated with the International Contemporary Ensemble, Ensemble Intercontemporain Soloists, Ensemble Modern, Ensemble NOMAD, and the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra. He has played chamber music with Kari Kriikku, Claire Chase, Norio Sato, and Souju Nosaka, and collaborates with dancer Motoko Hirayama and designer Leeroy New. Mr. Honjoh has commissioned new pieces from composers including Vijay Iyer, Gabriel Prokofiev, Toshi Ichiyanagi, and Yuji Takahashi, and has recorded with composers Ryuichi Sakamoto and Dai Fujikura. He was the recipient of the 70th Arts Festival New Face Award by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, and was the first shamisen performer to receive the prestigious Idemitsu Music Award in 2014 and the Kyoto Aoyama Music Award in 2018. In 2016, Mr. Honjoh was chosen as the Japan-United States Arts Program/Asian Cultural Council Kimpei Nakamura Fellow. He currently serves as a part-time lecturer at Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music

Born in Kagawa Prefecture in 1975, Akihito Obama studied various styles of shakuhachi under leading musicians such as Toshimitsu Ishikawa (traditional shakuhachi) and Satoshi Yoneya (minyo [folk music] shakuhachi). In recent years, Obama draws on his musical experiences and incorporates these influences into his own music. In 2004, Obama recorded his first solo shakuhachi album Fukoku [Wind Carvings] featuring improvised works.

Currently, Obama performs as a solo musician and participates in various ensembles including “TAKiO BAND” led by Takio Ito, a minyo singer. He often appears in concerts overseas and has performed in over 37 countries. Obama has developed and refined his technique by performing in venues from small clubs to large concert halls with artists playing hogaku instruments and Western instruments. This has allowed him to penetrate traditional barriers and discover his own distinct sound. He is a part-time faculty member at Gakushuin University and a member of Japan Shakuhachi Professional-players Network.

Singer and voice performer Annabelle Plum uses her more than three octave range in contemporary music, improvisation and jazz. She focuses on experimental voice techniques and tone color. Plum’s interest lies in the interpretation of graphic scores and site-specific performances.

Plum studied Theatre Arts at Brown University (USA) and Performance Design and Practice at Central St Martin’s (UK). She studied extended vocal techniques pioneered by Roy Hart as a personal student of Jonathan Hart Makwaia in France and USA. She has lived in Prague since 2009, where she creates her own work and teaches experimental vocal techniques. From 2013 to 2015, she taught a course as a guest lecturer at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (DAMU). Since 2016, she has been studying voice under the direction of top Noh Theater performer, Hisa Uzawa (Kanze School) in Tokyo. She is the frontwoman of Die Schatten (alternative rock) and part of the international trio Quarter to Three (microtonal improvised music).

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