Brian Asawa
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Japanese American countertenor Brian Asawa (born 1966) studied music at UC Santa Cruz, UCLA and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. The singer's career was launched in 1991 when he became the first countertenor to win the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. After a two year association as a young artist with San Francisco Opera in 1991-92, he became the first countertenor to win the Plácido Domingo Operalia International Opera Competition (1994) and was chosen Seattle Opera's Artist of the Year (1996-97).
Asawa's operatic season highlights include Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus at San Francisco Opera and San Diego Opera; Tolomeo in Giulio Cesare at Metropolitan Opera, Bordeaux, Opera Australia, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, and Hamburg State Opera; Arsamene in Serse at Los Angeles, Cologne, Seattle, and Geneva; Admeto in Admeto at Sydney, Montpellier and Halle; Baba The Turk in The Rake's Progress at San Francisco and for Swedish television; Fiodor in Boris Godunov at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Endimione in La Calisto in Brussels, Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream at San Francisco, Houston, London Symphony Orchestra and Lyon; Ascanio in Ascanio in Alba at the Lincoln Center; Farnace in Mitridate at Opera National de Lyon and Paris Opera; Nero in L'incoronazione di Poppea in Sydney; Ottone in L'Incoronazione di Poppea at Glimmerglass Opera in New York; Orfeo in Orfeo ed Euridice, La Speranza in L'Orfeo and L'Umana Fragilita/Anfinomo in Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria at Netherlands Opera; David in Saul and Belize in Angels at the Bavarian State Opera, and Sesto in Giulio Cesare at COC in Toronto.
Mr. Asawa's discography includes four solo recital discs ranging from Dowland and Campion to Rachmaninov and Ned Rorem. Opera recordings include Farnace in Mitridate for Decca, Arsamene in Serse for Conifer and Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream for Philips with the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Colin Davis.
Asawa is the nephew of sculptor Ruth Asawa.
