Baritone Eijiro Kai has won glowing reviews for his role in the Vienna State Opera production of Verdi's "Simon Boccanegra." He will be appearing in concert at Toppan Hall (Tokyo) on August 11, 2007. Mr. Kai is among the artists profiled on this site.
http://japansclassic.com/artists/nikikai_04/eijiro_kai.html

(The following is excerpted from an article dated May 12, 2007 that appears in Japanese at the "classic NEWS" website. Reproduced with permission.)

Reports are coming in of a brilliant series of performances by baritone Eijiro Kai with the Vienna State Opera, where he gave five performances of the villain Paolo in Verdi's "Simon Boccanegra" (April 7, 10, 14, 17 and 20). He was seen as bringing life and high drama to this major role. One Japanese opera fan enthused, "I was marveling over his stage presence and singing. It was only after the final curtain when I read the program that I realized he was Japanese."

Mr. Kai joined with the Vienna State Opera as a regular soloist in September, 2003. Now in his fourth season, he has earned international recognition while singing more than thirty roles, prominently including Enrico in "Lucia di Lammermoor," Marcello in "La Boheme," Belcore in "L'Elisir d'Amore," Lescaut in "Manon Lescaut," Mercutio in "Romeo and Juliette" and the current role of Paolo. He is a member of the Nikikai.

Conductor: Nicola Luisotti
Simon Boccanegra: Thomas Hampson
Jacopo Fiesco: Ferruccio Furlanetto
Gabriele Adorno: Giuseppe Sabbatini
Amelia Grimaldi: Tamar Iveri
Paolo Albiani: Eijiro Kai
Pietro: Dan Paul Dumitrescu (Goran Simic on April 20)
Amelia's lady-in-waiting: Juliette Mars

Tokyo Nikikai Opera Foundation
http://www.nikikai.net/

classic NEWS: May 12, 2007
http://www.music.co.jp/classicnews/ (Japanese language only)