| NOTA |
(★)(´TO-0060´es mismo libro.)(In recent years, Bunraku, Japan´s puppet theatre for adults, has gained an avid and ever-increasing following outside its homeland, as the troupe of puppeteers, narrators, and musicians performs in the major international theatre capitals of the West. Everywhere the troupe has met with an enthusiastic welcome from theatre professionals and general audiences alike. The color, magic, excitement, and fascinating dramatic spell of the puppet stage are universally appealing and, once experienced, impossible to forget. Few Westerners, however, have ever ventured behind the striped Bunraku curtain to observe the troupe at work. ´Backstage at Bunraku´ is a vivid, first-hand account of this fascinating world of shadows and a perceptive, probing document of the artists and craftsmen who declare, with deserved pride ´We ARE Bunraku´. The Bunraku troupe consists, in addition to the 37 puppeteers, 28 narrators, and 19 musicians who appear before the audience, of a backstage team --the urakata-- of craftsmen and workers : costume designer and seamstress, off-stage musicians and propmen, wig maker, head carver, and puppet repairer, all of whom are an integral, though unseen, part of the Bunraku performance. The secrets of the arts and crafts of these diverse human talents, the story of their training, the testimony of their commitment to their art, are all eloquently recorded here in their own words, and illustrated with 56 monochrome photographs as arresting as they are information-packed. Here are the artists captured in moments of reflection, preparation, rehearsal, and performance, and the urakata busily at work in their workshops and studios. Theatre artists and students will find the storehouse of technical information --including lists of troupe members, diagrams of the stage, and the Glossary-Index of specialized Bunraku terminology-- invaluable : all with an interest in theatre and the arts will appreciate the graceful and accessible text, which guides the uninitiated through this unique theatrical realm with clarity and charm. ´Backstage at Bunraku´ is a special book about a very special troupe of artists. As Donald Keene writes in his Introduction, it is ´written by someone who has gained the trust and friendship of a group of people who embody an art that is a glory not only of Japan but of the entire world´. ◆Barbara Curtis Adachi has lived most of her life in Tokyo. She witnessed her first Bunraku performance in 1935, at the age of eleven. Her extensive involvement with the troupe began in the 1960s and continues to this day. She has toured with the troupe both in Japan and in the United States, appearing with them for demonstrations, lectures, and television performances. A columnist for a Tokyo newspaper since 1970, she writes and lectures widely on traditional Japanese crafts and theatre. Her previous publications include ´The Living Treasures of Japan´ and ´The Voices and Hands of Bunraku´, from which the present work evolved.) |
BASE de DATOS, Biblioteca del Centro Cultural de la Embajada de Japon
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