The Eccentric Opera

compiled by Nicholas D. Kent
email: ndkent "at" optonline.net

Last updated 99.8.1

(*) means I don't own this album and haven't listened to it.

(@) means I don't own this album but have listened to it.

thanks: Per Sundfeldt, Rodney Greenblat, TS

The Eccentric Opera are the duo of Nami Sagara, who does multitracked vocals and Nahoko Kakiage who plays the keyboards. They were around since the early 90s and called just Opera prior to being signed to Epic/Sony.

The Eccentric Opera

96.8.21 Epic/Sony cd: ESCB 1779

 

  1. Caro mio ben (G.Giordani)
  2. Carmen : Habanera"L'amour est un oiseau rebelle" from the opera Carmen (G.Bizet)
  3. I Wonder As I Wander (John Jacob Niles)
  4. Amarilli (G.Caccini)
  5. Madam Butterfly : "Un bel di vedremo" from the opera Madama Butterfly (G.Puccini)
  6. Torna a Surriento (Ernesto de Curtis - Giambattista de Curtis)
  7. The Queen of the Night : "Der Holle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" from opera Die Zauberflote (W.A.Mozart)
  8. "Oh! mio babbino,caro" from opera Gianni Schicchi (G.Puccini)
  9. Chorus "Hallelujah" from oratorio Messiah (G.F.Handel)
  10. "Ave Maria", Ellens Gesang 3 op.52 -6,D839 (F.Schubert)
 

Debut album. I understand prior to this the group was called just Opera. There was a second singer at the time, Yutaka Kawashima. I think this album has some things a number of people aren't going to take to. The arrangements are kind of slick dance stuff and the imagery is more or less S&M related.

Caro mio ben

(@) 96.7.21 ESCB-1772

plus the regular version + a remix of Madam Butterfly : "Un bel di vedremo"

Hymne

97.9.20 ESCB 1834

I'd reccomend this one as the best TEO first album to listen to. A wonderful mix of highly skilled vocals and synthwork along with a perfect balance of serious and sassy. Some very surral juxtapositions (Erik Satie's Gnossiene with German lyrics and Bulgarian Women's choir type backing). The only Japanese album I can think of with songs sung in languages like Hebrew.

 

 

  1. Serenade
    Music : Serenade for String Orchestra op.48 (P.I.Tchaikovsky)
    Lyrics : Hymne (C.P.Baudelaire)
  2. La Pioggia
    (Daniele Pace - Mario Panzeri - Corrado Conti - Gianni E. Argenio)
  3. L'amour est Bleu
     (Pierre Cour - Andre Charles Jean Popp)
  4. Songs My Mother Taught Me
     (A.Dvorak / Lyrics by Adolf Heyduk)
  5. Irresistiblement
    (Jules Poubennec Georges Pierre - Gaston Renard Jean)
  6. Gnossienne
     Music : NO.1 from Three Gnossiennes (Erik Satie)
    Lyrics : Alles Schwindel(Marcellus Schiffer)
  7. Ani Holem al Naomi
     (Tirzah Atar - David Krivoshai)
  8. Black Is the Colour
     Music / Lyrics : Black Is the Colour (Traditional)
    Lyrics for the middle part : "If Music Be the Food of Love" by Henry Purcell (Henry Heveningham)
  9. All-over,Love
     Music by Nahoko Kakiage
    Lyrics : "All-over,Love" from "The Mistress" (Abraham Cowley)
    "Sweeter Than Roses" from "Pausanias" by Henry Purcell (Richard Norton)
    "Fairest Isle" from "King Arthur" by Henry Purcell (John Dryden)

Definitely a favorite album of mine.

 

Irrésistablement

(*) 97.9.21 ESDB-3790

with Songs My Mother Taught Me as the second track. I don't know of any differences from the album.

Irrésistablement is a touch Enya-like in style though is too wonderful to be derrivitave.

Noel

97.11.21 ESCB-1854

Clearly a Christmas mini album. (but no accent in Noël) The 7 songs are quite a mixed bag. To Western ears, "Hallelujah" off the first album is of course very Holiday related for a non Holiday album. Their openning track, The First Noel is the sort of brash style of the first album while the rest is more classy and beautiful. Except for a heavy sounding "Salve Regina". The Ravel piece wich is very nice but seems to have no holiday connection neither does the facinating sort of Reich-like arrangement of Turandot. The "holiday" fashion statements of fake eye patch and bird' s nest in the hairdo are real funny though ;) Not to turn anyone off, most of the pieces are eccelent and serious, just the xmas but not suitable for xmas dichotomy is a bit of a turnoff

 

  1. The First Noel
  2. Sonatine (Ravel)
  3. O Holy Night
  4. Salve Regina (? lyrics, Nahoko Kakaige music)
  5. Boys Chorus from "Turandot" (Puccini)
  6. Gloria
  7. Kyrie (trad lyrics, Nahoko Kakaige music)
  

 

The First Noel

(*) cd3: ESDB3808

seems to be just the single track

Paradiso

98.11.21 ESCB 1927

 

 

  1. BOLÉRO
  2. CHAM CHAMA GAYA
  3. PONTA DE AREIA~APENAS UM APENAS VOCÊ
  4. AMORE DI CIELO(KONZERT FUR VIOLINE UND ORCHESTER OP.64)
  5. SANCTUS
  6. ATTENTION PLEASE
  7. FUGUE IN G MINOR (with lyrics from Carmina Burana)
  8. FAUST
  9. DIE FRÜHLINGERSFEIER (Greig PIANO KONSERT OP.16)
  10. LA GROTTE
  11. THE FALLING MOON
  12. LA CHANSON D'ÈVE (MARCHES"POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE")

 

Very impressive and by far their most dense pieces. Attention Please is a real depature with translated Farsi proverbs and a full fledged technopop sound. Well worth checking out.

Fashion check :) Looks Oskar Schlemmer (original 1920s Bauhaus) inspired.

Faust and Fugue in G mol first appeared on a multiple artists concept project Nazca Sketches in late '97

Bolero

(*)98.11.21 Sony cd3: ESDB-3879

single

I guess they called it quits as a duo act around 1999.

Nami Sagara site (in Japanese)

link to a Nahoko Kakiage album

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