Scottish Opera The Great Wave Festival Theatre Edinburgh 21st February 2026 Review
Scottish Opera: The Great Wave at the Festival Theatre Edinburgh (Thu 19 & Sat 21 Feb) is a new opera by Dai Fujikura (music) and Harry Ross (libretto) that explores the life of iconic Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai, and his lifelong quest to be what he considered was "an artist". This review is for the Saturday performance of The Great Wave.
Like many other Japanese artists, Hokusai used many different names as an artist, but the main focus of this opera is on the creation of his now worldwide known and acclaimed work, the woodblock print "The Great Wave", or as it is known more correctly, “The Great Wave off Kanagawa" from his "Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji" series of prints.
Hokusai had a long life (1760–1849), and this work was created in late 1831, a time at which he was revered by many people as the most important living artist in Japan.
This production starts with kaleidoscopic visuals of many of Hokusai's better known works before the opening scene starts at the end of his life story at his funeral and his daughter Katsushika Ōi (Julieth Lozano Rolong) contemplating the loss of her father in a very spiritual sense. This opening scene is a silent one and careful lighting design (Yuka Hisamatsu) and colour contrasts set the tone of so much that is to come.
There is so much to be told in the life of Hokusai that the best any production can do is pick out a few events of note. Despite this abbreviation of a far larger story, we do get an insight not only into the artist behind his many works (over 3,000), but also the man himself. With
Daisuke Ohyama's portrayal of Katsushika Hokusai, we are given an insight into a man who is spiritual, absolutely committed to perfecting his art, and seemingly not worried by any of the distractions in life that seem to beset so many of us.
Hokusai may be a prolific artist, always striving to achieve perfection in every line and dot of his work, but he is terrible with money, and the dynamics that this causes between himself and his devoted daughter (who is also a very gifted artist in her own right) allows for a strong bond between Daisuke Ohyama and Julieth Lozano Rolong to form on-stage and fine performances from both allow real warmth and emotion to flow into what could so easily have become a rather cold relationship. A sensitive performance by Chloe Harris as Koto, Hokusai's second wife, completes a nice warm family atmosphere here.
One of the most striking things about this production is the music, and here Dai Fujikura has created a very powerful score that contains instruments and sounds specific to Japan that merge perfectly with more familiar western music. The orchestra of Scottish Opera need a special mention here for their performance tonight.
This obviously is a very Japanese story and I have to admit that some of the specific cultural and historical references in this production may not be widely known to many people, and there are a lot of scenes in this opera. For these reasons I would advise reading the synopsis of "The Great Wave" and some background information (all in the printed programme) for a clearer and deeper understanding of some scenes and elements of this work.
One of the most important elements in this story is not a person, or a place, but a colour - "Prussian Blue" - and its influence on Hokusai's art of this period cannot be over-estimated. How he acquired it is a dynamic part of this story, and "Prussian Blue" is very much the colour of the second act.
Like the life of Hokusai himself, this production is for the most part a very simple and understated one. There are no "over the top moments", no displays of vocal gymnastics and imposing heroic figures. Instead, there is a story and a performance that emphasises that sometimes less is more.
Review by Tom King (c) 2026
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
Like many other Japanese artists, Hokusai used many different names as an artist, but the main focus of this opera is on the creation of his now worldwide known and acclaimed work, the woodblock print "The Great Wave", or as it is known more correctly, “The Great Wave off Kanagawa" from his "Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji" series of prints.
Hokusai had a long life (1760–1849), and this work was created in late 1831, a time at which he was revered by many people as the most important living artist in Japan.
This production starts with kaleidoscopic visuals of many of Hokusai's better known works before the opening scene starts at the end of his life story at his funeral and his daughter Katsushika Ōi (Julieth Lozano Rolong) contemplating the loss of her father in a very spiritual sense. This opening scene is a silent one and careful lighting design (Yuka Hisamatsu) and colour contrasts set the tone of so much that is to come.
There is so much to be told in the life of Hokusai that the best any production can do is pick out a few events of note. Despite this abbreviation of a far larger story, we do get an insight not only into the artist behind his many works (over 3,000), but also the man himself. With
Daisuke Ohyama's portrayal of Katsushika Hokusai, we are given an insight into a man who is spiritual, absolutely committed to perfecting his art, and seemingly not worried by any of the distractions in life that seem to beset so many of us.
Hokusai may be a prolific artist, always striving to achieve perfection in every line and dot of his work, but he is terrible with money, and the dynamics that this causes between himself and his devoted daughter (who is also a very gifted artist in her own right) allows for a strong bond between Daisuke Ohyama and Julieth Lozano Rolong to form on-stage and fine performances from both allow real warmth and emotion to flow into what could so easily have become a rather cold relationship. A sensitive performance by Chloe Harris as Koto, Hokusai's second wife, completes a nice warm family atmosphere here.
One of the most striking things about this production is the music, and here Dai Fujikura has created a very powerful score that contains instruments and sounds specific to Japan that merge perfectly with more familiar western music. The orchestra of Scottish Opera need a special mention here for their performance tonight.
This obviously is a very Japanese story and I have to admit that some of the specific cultural and historical references in this production may not be widely known to many people, and there are a lot of scenes in this opera. For these reasons I would advise reading the synopsis of "The Great Wave" and some background information (all in the printed programme) for a clearer and deeper understanding of some scenes and elements of this work.
One of the most important elements in this story is not a person, or a place, but a colour - "Prussian Blue" - and its influence on Hokusai's art of this period cannot be over-estimated. How he acquired it is a dynamic part of this story, and "Prussian Blue" is very much the colour of the second act.
Like the life of Hokusai himself, this production is for the most part a very simple and understated one. There are no "over the top moments", no displays of vocal gymnastics and imposing heroic figures. Instead, there is a story and a performance that emphasises that sometimes less is more.
Review by Tom King (c) 2026
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com