A unique multilingual opera reimagining the correspondence between Franz Kafka and Milena Jesenská, exploring themes of isolation, identity, and the "impossibility of writing".
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Between 1920 and 1923, Franz Kafka wrote over 120 letters to Czech journalist Milena Jesenská, whose replies were destroyed but whose influence on his work remains profound. This opera blends fragments of their letters with themes of isolation, cultural identity, and Kafka’s “impossibility of writing,” set against post-WWI Europe.
The libretto, incorporating German, Czech, English, and Japanese, creates an immersive experience that challenges the audience and invites active listening. The score features shakuhachi and shamisen, instruments linked to marginalized Japanese communities, alongside field recordings of carrion crows, evoking non-human language. The opera also reflects Jesenská’s tragic fate: captured by the Gestapo and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp, she was tattooed with the number 4714, earning her the nickname “4711” from fellow prisoners, a reference to the eau de cologne 4711 Echt Kölnisch Wasser.
Join 1014 and the Czech Center New York for the concert premiere of Hiroya Miura's opera––performed by Hidejiro Honjoh, Akihito Obama, and Annabelle Plum––paired with an intimate song cycle by Carl Bettendorf based on Kafka's original letters.
Hidejiro Honjoh has performed with prestigious ensembles including the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo City Philharmonic, Japan Philharmonic, Krasnoyarsk Chamber Orchestra, Baltic Neopolis Virtuosi, and Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa. He was the first shamisen player to perform a solo recital at London’s Wigmore Hall and has collaborated with the International Contemporary Ensemble, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Modern, Ensemble NOMAD, and Avanti! Chamber Orchestra. Honjoh has worked with artists like Kari Kriikku, Claire Chase, Norio Sato, Souju Nosaka, dancer Motoko Hirayama, and designer Leeroy New. He has commissioned works from composers including Vijay Iyer, Gabriel Prokofiev, Toshi Ichiyanagi, and Yuji Takahashi, and recorded with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Dai Fujikura. He is a part-time lecturer at Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music.
Annabelle Plum (*1984) is a singer and vocal performer known for her extensive vocal range and expertise in contemporary music, improvisation, jazz, and experimental techniques. She collaborates with Czech and international composers and has studied extended vocal techniques with Jonathan Hart Makwaia and Noh Theatre with Hisa Uzawa. Plum holds degrees from Brown University and Central St. Martins – University of the Arts London. Based in Prague since 2009, she leads vocal workshops and taught experimental vocal work at DAMU from 2013 to 2015. A founding member of the trio KlangWesen and the microtonal ensemble Quarter to Three, Plum has premiered works by composers like Michael Mantler and Petr Hora. She performed with the Berg Orchestra for the Czech premiere of Sweetheart, Goodbye! in 2020 and the world premiere of Das grosse Zeitalter in 2024. Plum continues to collaborate on contemporary music, free jazz, and improvisation projects.
Born in Kagawa Prefecture in 1975, Akihito Obama studied shakuhachi with Toshimitsu Ishikawa (traditional) and Satoshi Yoneya (minyo). Drawing on these influences, he creates his own distinctive sound. In 2004, he released his debut solo album, Fukoku [Wind Carvings], featuring improvised works. Obama performs both solo and with ensembles like TAKiO BAND, led by Takio Ito, and has toured over 37 countries. His extensive experience in diverse venues, performing with both Japanese and Western musicians, has helped him develop a unique technique. He is a part-time faculty member at Gakushuin University and a member of the Japan Shakuhachi Professional-players Network.
Hiroya Miura (三浦寛也), a composer and performer from Sendai, Japan, has worked extensively in North America. He has received residencies from the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, la Napoule Art Foundation, HB Studio, and Willapa Bay AiR, among others. A founding member of the electronic improvisation unit No One Receiving, Miura studied piano and composition at l’Ecole de musique Vincent d’Indy and McGill University. He holds a D.M.A. from Columbia University and is an Associate Professor of Music at Bates College, where he teaches music theory and composition and directs the college orchestra. Miura is also Artistic Director of Columbia’s IMJS/Japanese Cultural Heritage Initiatives and serves on the Composers Conference Advisory Board.
Carl Christian Bettendorf is a German-born, New York-based composer/conductor. He studied with Wolfgang Rihm and Tristan Murail and holds a doctorate from Columbia University. Currently, he serves on the composition faculty of Rowan University (Glassboro, NJ).
His numerous awards include residencies at the Cité des Arts (Paris), Villa Concordia (Bamberg, Germany), Casa Baldi (German Academy in Rome, Villa Massimo), and MacDowell as well as commissions from the Fromm Foundation and the Ralph Kaminsky Fund.
As a conductor, Bettendorf has worked with ensembles in New York (Wet Ink; Ghost and Talea ensembles) and abroad (piano possibile, Munich; Ostravská banda, Czech Republic), and was director of the Manhattanville and Bates College orchestras. Opera credits include Bard College and the Opéra national de Montpellier (France), and he has served as assistant conductor of the Columbia University and American Composers orchestras. He has recorded for Albany, ArtVoice, Carrier, Cybele, Hat Hut, Indexical, New Focus, New World, and Tzadik.
Organized in collaboration with 1014 NYC (TenFourteen NYC).
