Yasko Sato

Soprano

Biography

In the 2024/2025 season, she returns to take on the role of Cio Cio San at Teatro Ponchielli in Cremona, Teatro Sociale in Como, Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo, Teatro Fraschini in Pavia, Teatro del Giglio in Lucca, Estonian National Opera and Vancouver Opera.

After graduating and obtaining a doctorate with highest honors at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Yasko Sato completed her training in Italy with Raina Kabaivanska. She placed in several international competition including the XLI “Toti Dal Monte” Competition for the role of Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly), the IX Concurso Internacional de Cant “Jaume Aragall” (1st prize and special prize Amics de l’opera de Sabadell), the Music Competition of Japan in Tokyo (1st prize and Audience Award).

She made her debut in 2005 in Japan with the role of Leonora in Oberto Conte di San Bonifacio by Verdi while on tour for the Teatro Lirico Sperimentale di Spoleto which subsequently invited her to sing Mimi in La Bohème, Leonora in Il Trovatore and in concert with Leo Nucci in the 40th anniversary of his debut.

She later appeared as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni at the Tokyo National Theatre, as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, and as Mimì in La Bohème; she also performed the latter role at the Teatro Vittorio Emanuele of Messina. She debuted Tosca at the Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo.

She thereafter explored the scope of the role of Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly, publishing a work in Japan entitled “Madama Butterfly: evolution of a woman”, which investigates the ultimate intentions of the composer through the analysis of the evolution of the character among the various revisions of the work.

She debuted in the title role of Madama Butterfly in Sabadell, where she obtained great success and vast appreciation of the critics, with raving reviews in major Spanish newspapers. She later had the opportunity to sing the role of Cio-Cio San at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, Tokyo National Theatre, Theatre Megaron in Athens, Slovene National Theatre in Ljubljana, Teatro Pergolesi in Jesi, Teatro Verdi in Brindisi, Teatro Sociale in Rovigo, Teatro Mario Del Monaco in Treviso, Teatro Regio in Parma, Trapani Festival, Opéra de Wallonie-Liege, Seattle Opera, The Atlanta Opera.

Reviews

“Yasko Sato, giovane soprano giapponese che in soli due o tre anni di carriera sembra aver già fatto proprio il ruolo di Cio-Cio-San, e non solo per ragioni di physique du rôle, che anzi, conoscendo le scelte di casting dei teatri (italiani e non) potrebbe alla fine rivelarsi a lei deleterio, relegandola, come è spesso successo ad altre artiste, in una manciata di ruoli “esotici”. Ci auguriamo che i direttori artistici mostrino in questo caso molta più fantasia del solito. Yasko Sato possiede un bel timbro morbido, limpido, duttile, omogeneo, dai centri caldi e pudicamente sensuali uniti ad acuti ben raccolti e ad un registro grave piuttosto corposo per un soprano lirico, emesso con estremo gusto, quasi adagiato dolcemente verso il basso e mai spintovi con la benché minima forza.”

GBOPERA