Hiroya Miura《4711 – Intercourse of Ghosts》

Hiroya Miura《4711 – Intercourse of Ghosts》

[Date]
March 29, 2025
Doors open at 6:30 PM, event begins at 7:00 PM

[Venue]
Bohemian National Hall
(321 E 73rd St, New York, NY 10021)

[Artist]
Hiroya Miura・三浦寛也（composer）
Carl C. Bettendorf（conductor）
Hidejiro Honjoh・本條秀慈郎（shamisen）
Akihito Obama・小濱明人（shakuhachi）
Annabelle Plum（singer）

[Comment]
4711 – Intercourse of Ghosts is a unique, multilingual opera reimagining the correspondence between Jewish novelist Franz Kafka and Czech journalist Milena Jesenská. Between 1920 and 1923, Kafka wrote over 120 letters to Jesenská, and although her replies were destroyed, her impact on his work is profound. This opera blends fragments of their letters with themes of isolation, cultural identity, and Kafka’s “impossibility of writing,” all set against the backdrop of post-WWI Europe.

The libretto intertwines German, Czech, English, and Japanese, creating an immersive experience that challenges the audience’s comfort and invites active listening. The score features shakuhachi and shamisen, instruments tied to marginalized Japanese communities, along with field recordings of carrion crows whose calls suggest a form of non-human language. The opera also explores Jesenská’s tragic fate: after being captured by the Gestapo and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp, she was tattooed with the number 4714, leading to the nickname “4711” among fellow prisoners, referencing the popular 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.