今月の NHK テレビのハイビジョンチャンネルでは、イタリア関係の再放送特集があり、その国でかつて学んだ人たちや、いまそこで活躍している人たちの番組をいくつか見た。その中に、以前よくテレビで拝見した声楽家・五十嵐喜芳氏が、恩師の家や墓、遺族を訪ね、旧友に再会もする番組、『いつまでも歌い続けたい旅人』があった(2001年11月25日のものの再放送)。 私は若い頃、少し太り気味だったので、五十嵐氏の容貌に自分が似ていると思っていた。久しぶりに拝見して、優雅さの増した印象を受けた(私自身は同じ方向に変っただろうか)。
氏がオペラ座を訪れて、私が最近愛唱している歌の一つ、北原白秋作詞、山田耕筰作曲の「この道」を歌う場面があった。客席には、同じく声楽家の娘さんだけがいるという状況のもとでのことだ。「お母さまと馬車でいったよ」の歌詞のある3番は歌われなかった。氏はお母さん子で、母堂が亡くなったあと1年ほど、歌う声が出なかったと番組の中で語っていたことから、3番の歌詞は彼には涙なしに歌えなくて飛ばしたのであろうと想像した。
This month, the high-vision channel of NHK TV is specially re-broadcasting the programs related to Italy. So, I have seen some shows about the people who once studied, or are now working, in that country. One of those shows was of the title, "The traveler who wishes to keep singing" (originally broadcast on November 25, 2001). In the show, the singer Kiyoshi Igarashi, whom we had used to see frequently on TV many years ago, visited the house, grave, and family of his former teacher and met again old friends of his. In my young days, I was a little overweight and thought that my look was fairly similar to Igarashi's. Looking at him after many years, I have found that his appearance has become more elegant (I wonder if the change in me has been in the same direction).
There was a scene in which he visited the Opera House and sang the Japanese song "This Road" (lyrics by Hakushu Kitahara, music by Kosaku Yamada; this is one of my favorite song of these days). The sole audience was his daughter, also a singer. The third lyrics, which included the words, "I passed through it by horse-driven carriage with my mother," was not sung. He was a mama's boy, and he talked in the show that he had been unable to sing for about a year after his mother's death. Therefore, I guess that the third of the lyrics would have been too sad for him to sing without tears.