522-0341 滋賀県犬上郡多賀町多賀627 カフェ 営業時間/11am-5pm 定休日/月,木曜日 電話/0749-48-0186 Email/taga.asahiya@gmail.com
横田順 墨画展 10/6 〜 15 @ 多賀あさひや
不思議な世界です。
無音の中にいるようであり、自分が突き動かされる感じもします。
心に留まるものがあったら、じ〜っと向き合ってみては如何でしょうか。
Sunao Yokota Bokuga exhibition 10/6 ~ 15 @ Taga Asahiya
It's a strange world.
I feel as if I am in silence, and I also feel I am driven by something.
When you find one that stays in your mind, stare at it for a while.
９月２５日（日曜日）２０２３
布谷史人さんのマリンバコンサートが終わりました。初めてマリンバを聴く方もいつもの方々も、皆さん布谷さんのマリンバの響きに誘われて一心に聴き入っていらっしゃいました。クラシックから日本人には馴染みの曲まで、またテクニック満載リズミッカルな動きの早い曲等々、全て息を飲むような見事な演奏ばかり。譜面台などありません！マリンバの説明と聴衆からの質問コーナーではとても打ち解けた和やかな空気が生まれ、一つひとつに応える布谷さんの言葉にその誠実さと温かさが滲み出て布谷ファンが一気に増えたのではないでしょうか。
古民家という完璧とは程遠い環境で、しかも間近に観客がいることで演奏者は大変やり難かったと思います。一方、聴く側は演奏者の息遣いや表情まで見えるところで演奏が聴ける（見られる）という音楽ホールにはない「お得感」がありました。
素晴らしい演奏に触れ、布谷さんの創り出す音楽の世界に感動できたこと、演奏と同時にマレットを持ってマリンバに向かう布谷さんの姿が映像として其々に残ったことは非常に貴重で大切な時間でした。
心を込めて演奏してくださった布谷史人さん、集まってくださったお客様お一人ひとりに感謝申し上げます。ありがとうございました！
Marimba Concert by Fumito Nunoya successfully finished. Both people who came to the marimba concert for the first time and people who come to the concert every year listened to the marimba music intently which was beautifully created by Nunoya. The program ranged from classical music to Japanese music. They were either familiar to the Japanese audience or rhythmic and high tempo and needed high technical skill. All were breathtakingly wonderful. Nunoya doesn't put a music stand in front of the marimba. We made time in which Nunoya explained about the instrument of marimba and responded to the questions from the audience. Everybody looked very relaxed and Nunoya's words were sincere and warm then. I am sure many people loved him.
The situation in my old Japanese house is far from a music hall which has a nice facility and the audience was too close to the marimba. It was not easy to play for the marimbist, Nunoya. However, from the side of the audience, we were in a nice situation because we could see the player's facial expression and even hear the player's breathing and we never experienced those if we were in a music hall.
We listened to his beautiful music and were impressed. We also remember the image of Nunoya playing marimba with mallets just in front of us which was a nice and valuable time.
I really thank Nunoya for playing such beautiful music. I also thank the people who came to the concert.
９月１３日（水曜日）２０２３
小学一年生の読み聞かせ。本日は「おおかみとしちひきのこやぎ」を選びました。子供の頃に誰もが出会ったグリム童話ですが、実は、この本を読むかどうかに躊躇がありました。
お母さんの留守中、やってきたオオカミに兄弟が襲われ、時計の中に隠れた一番下のこやぎだけが助かり、話しを聞いたお母さんが外で寝ているオオカミのお腹がまだピクピク動いているのを見てオオカミのお腹を割いて、中から子ヤギを助け、代わりに石を詰め込むというお話。躊躇の理由は、お腹をはさみで割く絵がリアルすぎるのと、石の重みで池にハマって浮いてこないオオカミを子ヤギたちが喜ぶというゲンキンさ。子供の時はふうんと思って聞いた話しですが、今の子供はどう思うか心配半分、反応みたさ半分という気持ちでとりあえず読んでみました。
読み終えた後、男の子から「オオカミちっとかわいそうになった」との感想。やっぱりなぁ...と私。それで、子供達には「お母さんの留守に変な人が来るかもしれないから、絶対に言うこと聞いたらアカンよ」と教訓を垂れました。
I chose a picture book of "Wolf and seven baby goats" from Grimm Fairy Tales for the first graders at the Storytelling Class. As a matter of fact, I had a little hesitation about choosing this book, because one of the pictures is a scene of the mother goat cutting the wolf's belly which looks cruel. There is another one of baby goats yelling with delight when they see the wolf who had stones stuffed into his stomach sinking into a pond and never coming up, which is also cruel. When I was a small child, I didn't feel any sympathy for the wolf, though. Anyhow, I read the book to see their reaction.
When I finished the reading and asked the kids how it was. One of the boys said " I felt sorry for the wolf." and that was what I expected. Then I told them "A stranger might come to your house while your mom is out, but you never follow the person's word. Got it?"
９月９日（土曜日）２０２３
毎年、９月９日は多賀大社の秋の古例祭です。春の古例大祭に比べ、時間も規模も縮小されていますが、境内では収穫の豊凶を占う古知古知（コチコチ）相撲など秋ならではの楽しい行事もあります。
さて、今年の頭人（祭りの主役）は多賀町河内地区から選出された管森金次郎さんがご奉仕なさいました。管森さんは中学で机を並べた同級生です。中学の時から温厚な人柄で騎乗の頭人姿は大変立派でした。「お渡り」と言われる行列がカフェの前を通る時、管森クンを見上げてバンザイしたい気持ちでしたが、代わりに手を振りました。立派な騎馬姿の写真を撮ったつもりが後で撮れていなくて何とも情けない気持ち。神事の後のお帰りの際の写真を載せます。
今日は曇り空かと思いましたが、気温も上がりお祭りの行列の皆様は大変だったことでしょう。カフェもお祭りと知らずに来られた県外の方も見えて一日中賑わいました。
Every year, September 9th is the day of the Fall Festival of Taga Taisha. The event is held on a smaller scale than the Spring one but Kochi-Kochi-Zumoh which is a Smoh wrestling to forecast how rich or poor the harvest of the year will be, is a special event of the Fall festival.
Well, the main person of the Festival was Mr. Kinjiro Sugamori who was one of my classmates in Junior High School. He looked great on the horse.
I expected a cloudy day but it became very warm and people in the festival procession must have been very tired in that weather. There were many customers in my cafe and among them there were some people who were from other prefectures without knowing about the Festival. I am glad that they all looked very relaxed and enjoyed the day.
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マリンバ公演 by 布谷史人 ９月２３日（土）@ 多賀あさひや ！！
ドイツを拠点にヨーロッパ、アメリカ、日本で演奏活動を行っている布谷史人（ぬのや・ふみと）氏のマリンバは、その優れた演奏技術と表現力が世界的に高く評価されています。音楽ホールでなく古民家、多賀あさひやでのソロコンサート。観客間近の演奏を聴いて（見て）布谷さんの創り出す音楽との一体感を肌で感じてください。これは、大変貴重な機会です 。
１３時が後数席、１７時はまだ余裕がございます。布谷さんのマリンバをまだ聴いたことがない方、このチャンスをお見逃しなく！！
Marimba Concert by Fumito Nunoya on Saturday, Sep. 23 at Taga Asahiya !!
Mr. Nunoya who is based in Germany, and performs in Europe, US and Japan, has been highly acclaimed in his technique and music expression. He will perform a solo concert not in the music hall but in an old Japanese folk house, Taga Asahiya. We hope you will appreciate his marimba close to him which is a very valuable opportunity.
We have a few more available seats for the concert at 1pm and more seats at 5pm. Please do not miss this chance to those people who have not listened to Nunoya's marimba yet !!.jpg)
８月２８日（月曜日）２０２３
日中の日差しは相変わらず強いですが、日照時間が少しずつ短くなって朝晩は涼しい風も感じられるこの頃です。
太陽が少し斜めになりかけた頃、買い出しに外にでるとセミの声が前とは違うことに気が付きます。ジージーと森全体が息をしているように勢いよく鳴いていたセミとは違います。名前が分からないのが情けないですが、ヒグラシとはまた違うセミです。
山の向こうからモクモク出ている雲が勢いがあってハッとしたのでカメラを取りに家へ戻って出直すと、さっきより雲は少し流れていましたが、それでも山々の緑から顔を出す雲と空全体に薄く広がる雲は美しく心が奪われます。気のせいかもしれませんが、真夏の空とは少し違うかなあと眺めたひとときでした。
The sunshine is still very strong in the daytime, but the daylight hours are shorter day by day and we feel a cool breeze in the morning and evening these days.
When the sun moved a little to the west, I went out shopping and I noticed that the sound of cicadas was different from the one before. Up until mid-August, it sounded more lively and noisy as if the woods were breathing loudly. But I guess it was a little milder than before.
I saw the white clouds coming over the mountain which were very impressive, so I went home to take my camera and came back to the same place. They became a little out of shape but they were still beautiful, in contrast with the clouds which were spread thinly high in the blue sky. It might be just my imagination, but the sky looked different from the midsummer one.
８月２１日（月曜日）２０２３
お盆が過ぎても猛暑の毎日。日中外に出るのはある種の覚悟が要ります。２時半すぎに意を決して買い出しに出ました。業務スーパーで買い物をした後、マリンバ公演のチラシを置かせてもらいに近くのカフェグレコに寄りました。久しぶりに注文する夢見る飲み物、クリームソーダの美味しいこと！
一息入れさせてもらって出発し、帰り道にホームセンターで封筒を買って外にでると腕に冷たいものが.....。雨が降るかもと急いでペダルを漕いでいると前方に鋭い稲妻、その数秒後、大粒の雨が降り出してきました。これは進めないと判断し、大急ぎで近くのコンビニの軒下へ。
雷と雨の大暴れ。稲光の後のバシッ！ガッガーン！！は、いくつになっても怖くて悲鳴が出ますが、少し離れて同じように雨宿りしているお兄さんには聞こえていないのかアイコンタクトなし。
３、４０分経って、東の空が明るくなって夕立劇場の終わりが見えてきました。まだ雨は降っていましたが先にお兄さんがコンビニを離れ、しばらくして私も。中に入って買い物はしませんでしたが、改めてコンビニの存在の有り難さを実感しました。
It's late August but still terribly warm these days and you need to prepare in your mind when you go out in this weather. I was determined to go to the supermarket at around 2:30. After getting necessary things, I went to Cafe Greco which my old friend runs to ask them to let me place flyers for the Marimba Concert which will be held in my cafe on the 23rd of September. At Cafe Greco, I ordered a Soda Float which was so good!
On the way home, I stopped by another store to buy envelopes and when I came out of the store, I felt small drops of water. I thought that it would start to rain. When I was pedalling my bicycle, I saw a strong thunder lightning ahead of me. Few seconds later, much stronger rain started falling. I was on my bicycle, but I thought I couldn't go farther and should find some place to shelter from the rain. I dashed to a Convenience store nearby.
There was fearful thunder and heavy rain. Since it was so scary, I unintentionally cried out loud, but a man who was also waiting in front of the Conbini for the rain to stop seemed not to hear my scream, since we didn't have any eye contact with each other.
After a while, the eastern sky became bright and it looked like the thunder storm would be over shortly. Although it was still raining, the man left first, and next I left. I didn't enter the Conbini and didn't buy anything, but I really appreciated the existence of Convenience Store.
８月１５日（火曜日）２０２３
昨夜から時折打ちつける激しい雨と風であちこちの戸がガタガタ音を立てているのを聞きながら夜が明け、日中も同じような台風の風雨で１日が終わりました。
カフェは臨時休業。自分の時間を有効に使えるかなと思ったけれど、結局は何もせずぼんやりと過ごしただけでした。９月のマリンバ公演の案内がまだ出せていない所が２０ほどあったので、雨が小降りになったのを見計らって郵便局まで外出。誰にも出会わず、通った車も２台ほど。
終戦記念日の今日。若くして戦死した顔も知らない叔父を偲びつつ、未だに戦禍で多くの命が失われている現実に虚しさを覚え、山火事とはいえまるで戦争で破壊されたと同じ景色になってしまったハワイ・マウイ島ラハイナの無惨な姿に呆然とします。
Hearing the rattle of the house because of the strong wind and rain in the typhoon since last night, I woke up and the entire day remained in the same situation.
I closed my cafe temporarily in this bad weather, so I thought that I had plenty of time to do what I want but I didn't do anything special but spend time absentmindedly. Since I had to send a few more fliers of the Marimba Concert at my cafe in September, I went out to the post office when the rain was letting up. I didn't see anybody and only two cars were passing by me.
Today was the anniversary of the end of Second World War. My uncle (father's younger brother) died in this war. I was thinking of him although I never met him. Thousands of people are still killed in war. Forest fire in Hawaii Maui destroyed the beautiful island and over a thousand people were killed by terrible disaster. I get speechless and feel empty.
８月１２日（土曜日）２０２３
ボストンから帰って翌日から三日間は多賀大社の万灯祭で夜までカフェを開けるというちょっと無茶なことをして、それでも何とか乗り切ることができました。このごろは時差ボケのせいか朝は４時ごろには目が覚めるので、涼しいうちに草ボウボウの裏の古屋周りをスッキリさせて少しほっとしています。
世の中はお盆休みに入ったようで、カフェのお客様も親子で多賀大社へ受験祈願に来られる方、金沢で仕事をする息子さんを静岡から迎えに行った帰りに立ち寄られた家族、滋賀に赴任のご主人とはるばる北海道から訪ねて来られた奥様、法事に彦根に帰り足を延ばして多賀に来られたご夫婦、等など、炎天下の中、県外から多くの方が多賀大社に参拝にいらしています。参拝の後でカフェでお茶をという方が普通ですが、猛暑のこの頃は、先ずはカフェで体を休めてそれからお参りに、という方が何人もいらっしゃいます。
夕方、一番近い彦根のスーパーに買い物に出かけたら、強烈な暑さが嘘のように和らいでいました。
The day after I returned from Boston, I opened my cafe until 9 p.m. because there was a summer lantern festival at Taga Taisha for three days. It seemed a little crazy for me to work so hard without taking any rest after a long flight. It was really hard and made me tired, but I could get through anyhow. I woke up very early in the morning, probably because of jetlag, so I weeded the neglected area around the back yard house while it was still cool.
Obon holidays have started and people usually take vacation for about a week. There are various people who come to my cafe. For example, youth who are preparing for entrance exams visit Taga Taisha with their parents to pray for getting through the exams successfully. Family from Shizuoka prefecture came to pick up their son who is working at Kanazawa in Ishikawa prefecture to get together during the holidays, and they just stopped by my cafe on their way home. There was a middle aged couple whose husband is working at Shiga and his wife came to see him from Hokkaido. I was glad to have a chance to chat with them. Usually people who visit Taga Taisha stop by my cafe after their visit to the shrine, but in this terrible heat, many customers come to my cafe first to take a rest, then they go to the shrine.
When I went to the nearest supermarket in Hikone after closing the cafe, the intense heat in the daytime let up and I felt good.
７月３１日（月曜日）
アメリカの人はアイスクリームが大好きで冬でもよく食べています。また種類も豊富です。
私は昔、冬に男子学生が１クオート（約１リットル）のアイスクリームの容器を片手に持って一人で食べているのを見て驚いたことを覚えています。寒い冬に冷たいアイスクリーム、日本人にはなかなか考えつきません。
先日、街中に面白いアイスクリーム屋がありました。Unicorn Taiyaki、「ユニコーン」とは一角獣と言われる架空の動物のこと。つまりたい焼き型のコーンに色々な味のアイスクリームを入れて、真ん中に角になるクッキーを刺し、両側に耳をつけたアイスクリーム。面白いので中に入ってたい焼きのコーンがどんなのか見てきました。狭いアイスクリーム屋さんでしたが、若者が沢山このUnicorn TAIYAKIアイスクリームを買っていました。
見るだけで買わなかったので値段や食べた感想が報告できませんが、楽しい発想で笑ってしまいます。
American people like ice cream very much and even in winter they often eat it and you will be surprised at the number of ice cream kinds. I still remember male students were holding one quart of ice cream and eating it alone in the winter. I think most Japanese people don't have the idea of eating ice cream during the cold winter.
I found an interesting ice cream shop in the town the other day. "Unicorn Taiyaki" was the name of the shop. Taiyaki is a popular Japanese sweet which is a fish shaped cake with a sweet red bean inside. They use a Taiyaki shaped cone instead of regular one and put ice cream in it. They also use a stick size cookie which is used as a horn and put two little ears on top of the ice cream.
Since I didn't buy Unicorn Ice Cream, I cannot report the taste and other points other than the appearance. It is a small ice cream shop but it was crowded with young people who entered to buy it. It is an interesting and unique idea. I was amused by it.
７月２９日（土曜日）２０２３
ボストンから西に車で２時間半ほどのところにノーマン・ロックウェル（Norman Rockwell)美術館があります。予約したコンパクトカーが出払ってないとのことで、小さい車の値段で良いからと大きな車を使うことになり、初めてのことでびっくりしたけど乗ってみると安定感があり80マイル（130k/h）ぐらいでスムーズに目的地にいけました。
ロックウェル(1894-1978)は２０世紀のアメリカを代表する画家で主にThe Saturday Evening Postという雑誌の表紙を描いていました。人々の何気ない日常をユーモラスに表情豊かに愛情たっぷり描いています。1940年あたりの作品は戦争中であったため軍服を着た青年や深い悲しみや恐怖の中で祈る人々の表情などリアルです。赤ちゃんが大泣きしているのが何枚かあり微笑ましかったです。女の子の1日を描いた作品は寝る前にお祈りをする姿が印象的。どの絵もかつてのアメリカらしさが溢れ出ていました。
行きに休息のために立ち寄ったマクドナルドでは、チーズバーガー、フィレオフィッシュ、フレンチフライ（フライドポテト）それにコーラ、全部で13ドルちょっとでした。物価高を覚悟していましたが、これぐらいならまあ許容範囲でしょう。
There is a Norman Rockwell Museum which is located two and half hours by car in the west from Boston. I reserved a compact car beforehand, but the person at the car rental told me I can rent a bigger car for the same price of a compact because all the compact cars were gone for renting. It was a really big car and I was afraid to drive it, but soon I got used to driving it. It was much smoother and stable than the compact car.
Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) a painter / illustrator who represents one of the 20 century America. He was mainly drawing the front page of Saturday Evening Post. He drew peoples' daily lives with humor, liveliness and warmth. I was moved by his detailed, realistic, and sincere expression. I saw many babies in his drawing and most of them were crying loudly which was very cute. There was an illustration telling the day in the life of one girl and Norman Rockwell drew this in detail and in a funny way. One of the illustrations where the girl prays beside her bed made me feel humble.
At the MacDonald's, where we stopped by for rest, we ordered cheeseburger, Filet-O-Fish, French fries and coke. It was a little over $13. I was expecting higher, but I think it is an acceptable price.
７月２７日（木曜日）２０２３
以前ほどの活気は見られませんが、夏の間は毎週木曜日午後に地域の農家が野菜や蜂蜜、ペイストリーなどを出す市が街の中心の駐車場で開かれています。先週覗いてみてブルーベリーがとても甘くてに美味しかったので、今週も行ってみました。お店の他に、今日は高年層のグループ１５人ほどがバンジョーなどの楽器や歌で楽しそうに披露して場を盛り上げていました。値段はスーパーよりちょっと高めでしたが、まあ地元の農家の応援も入っているので仕方ないと思いました。
それにしても今日は湿気もあって強い日差し。歩くと汗が出てきます。家のそばの池から上がってくるガチョウ？の群れが呑気にその辺を闊歩しています。
Farmers Market has been held every Thursday afternoon at the parking lot of Belmont Center during the summer which seems smaller compared to the one before. They are selling vegetables, honey, pastries, and so on. I went there last Thursday and bought some blueberries. Since they were so sweet, I went there again to get it. This time a senior group was playing light music and singing pleasantly, it made the atmosphere joyful. The prices were all a little higher than regular supermarkets, but I thought in terms of supporting local farms, it might be understandable.
Well, it was a really humid and hot day with direct sun on us. I sweat a lot while I was walking. A flock of geese which were from the pond were walking carelessly on the road and sidewalk.
７月２５日（火曜日）２０２３
郊外に住む友人に会うためにボストン最大の鉄道駅のSouth Stationから近郊列車（commuter rail)に乗りました。South Stationは全米を結んでいるアムトラック（Amtrak）の発着駅でもありますが、MBTAと呼ばれるマサチューセッツ州の公共交通機関の駅でもあります。Tと呼ばれる全米最初の地下鉄や近郊列車、路線バスも発車しています。この日私はレンタカーの利用も考えましたが、郊外に行って帰るだけなので近郊列車を利用することにしました。
大きな駅の構内はスーツケースを引いている人もたくさんいて、ニューヨークやワシントンDC方面へ行く人と思われました。フードコートもあり映画に出てくる駅らしく活気に満ちていました。Amtrackと近郊列車の切符売り場は並んでいて、目的地までの往復切符を頼むと６５歳以上は往復８ドルになりました。割引率は分かりませんがおトクだったようです。
さて、ここからが大変！アメリカの駅は改札がなく列車まで行くのは自由です。目的の列車は10:50発の予定。掲示板にはどのトラック（＝プラットホーム）か表示がありません。まもなく10:50の近郊列車３番トラックと表示されたので慌ててそこに行き乗り込む前に駅員に目的の駅に行くかと聞くと応えはNO。目指す列車が10:50にあるはずだとこちらが言うと、分からないが駅のアナウンスを聞けと言います。仕方なしに戻って、掲示板を見るも何の表示もなし。列車は遅れている。駅のアナウンスはモヤッとして聞き取りにくい。時間はとっくに過ぎている。焦っているとようやく掲示板に予定した列車の表示が出て１０番トラックから５分後に出る様子。急いで１０番に行くも長い車列の乗車できる車両はずっと先の方。何とか乗り込むことはできたものの、疑問点が私の頭にはありすぎて.....。
目的地で降りた時に、帰りはホームが反対側になることを確認しました。友達と別れた後、ホームで待っていると同じ列車に乗る人が集まってきて同様に列車を待っていました。時間が来ても列車は来ないまま皆は辛抱強く待ち続け、やっと列車が近づいた時、突然皆が橋を渡って反対側のホーム目掛けて階段を駆け上がっていくではありませんか。私も勿論必死で皆について行きました。結局、帰りの列車も行きと同じホームにやってきたのです。
列車内での切符チェックもない呑気な郊外列車でしたが、時間も乗るホームもいい加減な印象。文句を言う人もなく多分こんな感じで何十年も走り続けているボストンの近郊列車。ひどく疲れる1日でした。
I went to see my friend who lives in the suburbs of Boston by using a commuter rail. There was an idea to rent a car in my mind but I decided not to because I felt I should save my money for just visiting my friend and returning to Boston.
South Station is the biggest station where Amtrak departs and leaves, and it is also a station of the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority). Inside the premises, I saw many people who were pulling their suitcases, buying food and drinks at the food stand, and it was so lively. Ticket window of commuter rail was next to Amtrak, and I asked for a return ticket. It was $8.00 for seniors.
Now, I was kind of in a panic after this. Previously I had checked that the departure time of the commuter rail which I was supposed to get on was 10:50 a.m., but there was no track information on the board. However, soon track 3 was indicated for the train which was scheduled to depart at 10:50. I rushed to the train and just asked the conductor who was standing outside before getting on the train if it would be stopping at XX, he said NO and said the different destination. He only knew that his train departed at 10:50 and it didn't stop at my station. He said that I should listen to the announcement about the expected train in the station. The expected train was delayed 30 min, and finally I could get on the train at track 10.
When I got off the train, I checked for the track which I was supposed to get on for my way back to Boston. After I said goodbye to my friend, I was waiting for the train on the track. A few people were waiting for the same train on the same track as I was, but the train didn't come on time. It was delayed again, and after a while, people suddenly started running toward the other track, going up the stairs. It seemed the train was coming on the same track as I got off a few hours ago. Of course I also ran to the other track to get the train.
There was no ticket checking in the train car and it was so generous, but I thought that the commuter rail in this area is rather sloppy in terms of keeping time and track. I was so exhausted the whole day.
７月２３日（日曜日）２０２３
ART(American Repertory theater)でロック・オペラのエビータ（EVITA)を観ました。数十年前に日本で日本人による公演を観ましたが、Shakespeare Thatre Companyによる今回の上演を知って興味津々、観たいと思いました。
さて、劇場内に入ると暗いステージにエビータを象徴する白いドレスが中央に吊り下がり、舞台一面に覆われた白い花に衝撃を受けました。ブロードウェイなどの商業演劇の劇場と違い、ここはハーバード大学が持つ５００席ぐらいのプロの演劇劇場で、どんな展開を見せるのかドキドキするようなステージ効果です。席で待っているとオーケストラピットでの楽器の準備も次第に賑やかになり、場内アナウンスがスペイン語で始まりました。アルゼンチンが舞台のエビータならではの演出効果なのでしょう。
ここでは詳しく書けませんが、休憩を挟んで２時間半のステージは圧巻でした。今回のエビータ役は意図的に黒人の方になっていたようですが、この日は代役のラテン系の方、彼女もソロで歌う男性陣も歌が上手い！アンサンブルのダンスも見事！アーチ型のシンプルな大道具の転換と中央の迫り（せり）と照明も上手に使われていました。終わった時の観客のスタンディングオベーションは納得いくものでした。
久しぶりのARTのステージには圧倒されましたが、同時にここにはある種のメッセージがあったことも事実です。それは劇場の壁に掛かっていたEVITAの看板横に大きく"Black Lives Matter"と書いてあったこと。それから手洗いは"All Genders"と書かれていて男女共用になっていたこと。不愉快極まりないです！私はAll Gendersトイレは絶対に困ると思っています。日本もこの傾向にあるようですが嘆かわしい限りです。
I went to see the rock opera "EVITA" at ART (American Repertory Theatre). I watched it by a Japanese theatrical company in Japan decades ago, but I was just curious about watching it performed by ART.
Well, when I entered the stage hall, I saw a white dress hanging from the center ceiling on the stage which was obviously a symbol of Evita and white flowers completely covered the stage. It prefaced the performance that was about to begin and gave a strong impact. Loeb Drama Theatre which is ART's home base is not a very big theatre hall such as the theatre in NY Broadway, and it is affiliated with Harvard University.
The more people come to take their sheets, the louder the noise became in the orchestra pit. When the audience lights went off, the Spanish announcement started first which seemed like a stage effect because EVITA is Argentinian.
The two and half hour performance including intermission was overwhelming. The original casting of Evita, the main character, was a black woman but a latino woman was the swing on this day. She and other members who sang solo parts were so good, the dancing by the ensemble was amazing, arch shaped large props and the stage elevator were effectively used and stage lights were also excellent. When the show was over, the audience gave a standing ovation and I had the same rating for this performance.
I had not watched an ART performance in a long time, and it was really amazing and powerful. On the other hand I also felt that they gave us a certain message. I saw a big sign which said "Black Lives Matter '', and "All Genders" was written outside the restroom. As for the restroom, I felt very uncomfortable with this. I don't like this "all genders' restroom" at all. Japan is changing in the same way, and that is upsetting to me.
