Charlotte de Rothschild: The soprano who released a CD of Japanese songs
(Mainichi Japan)
Charlotte de Rothschild's love for Japan never ends. After her first tour of Japan, in 1991, she sang "Karatachi no Hana," triggering her fascination with the country.
Giving recitals around the globe, soprano Charlotte, 60, sings in 19 languages. Among these, Japanese songs hold a special place for her. Her repertoire of Japanese songs and children's melodies includes over 60 compositions, which she even performs abroad.
"The simple lyrics have profound meaning," she says.
In order to truly express the "Japanese soul," she has visited various locations around the country, reaching out to both the people and the nature of the nation. She does this in pursuit of truly understanding the lyrics.
Charlotte, a baroness, studied music at the world-renowned Mozarteum University Salzburg in Austria, and at the British Royal College of Music. Her father was the president of a global investment bank. For a while, Charlotte thought of not using her family name; she wanted to make it as a professional musician in her own right. However, many people dismissed her as "singing for love, not for money." The reality is that she also has to think about expenses at her concerts as a professional.
There is a deep connection bridging between the Rothschild family and Japan. During the Russo-Japanese war and after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the family actively gave strong support to Japan. Charlotte too, following the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, visited Tohoku to help the victims by using her voice. Even now, she continues to send her heart out to the victims of this tragedy.
In October, she released her new CD of Japanese music, named after the disaster-relief song "Hana wa Saku," from Tokyo M-Plus and Nimbus Records. It is her second collection of Japanese songs following her 1999 CD "Nihon no Tabiji." In March of next year she will be touring Japan alongside the City of London Sinfonia in support of this CD launch. (Story and photo by Junichi Yano, Europe General Bureau, London)
