Teiko Kiwa
Teiko Kiwa, born Laetitia Jacoba Wilhelmina Klingen, was a Japanese-Dutch opera singer. She was known as "the Japanese Duse", a reference to Italian actress Eleanora Duse.
Early life
Klingen was born in Yokohama, the daughter of a Dutch official, Hermanus Klingen, and dressmaker Tsuru Antonia Klingen; her maternal grandmother was Japanese. She moved to Italy in 1920, to train as a singer.Career
Kiwa specialized in playing Japanese opera roles, including Cio-Cio San in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, wearing her own authentic kimonos and accessories, rather than the usual European costumes. She starred in Madama Butterfly in her professional debut in 1922, at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon. She was the first Japanese woman to sing the role at the Polish National Opera, and at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet, and the second to sing the role in Brazil. She also sang the role in many other European cities, including Rome and Vienna. "The exquisite Japanese soprano proved herself beyond dispute the most impassioned actress who has ever interpreted this role," wrote one reviewer in 1926.She also played Norina in Don Pasquale and Mimi in La bohème. She made recordings for the Victor label in the 1930s. In April 1927, she was described as "the only singer who dares to travel by areoplane." She appeared on the covers of the American magazine Musical Courier in August and September 1927.