Kumiko Okubo-Bormann
Kumiko Okabo Bormann
Vocal studies
Kumiko Okabo-Bormann was born and raised in Osaka, Japan. At the age of 14, she began taking singing lessons as part of a musical talent program. She studied singing with Makoto Kikawada at Soai University and, after completing her singing diploma, continued her studies at the renowned Kansai Nikikai Opera Company, where she became a member of the ensemble. In 1983, she made her debut as Dorabella in Mozart's Così fan tutte at the International Kirishima Music Festival under the direction of Hartmut Haenchen. In 1987/88, she studied as a scholarship holder at the University of the Arts Berlin (now UdK) with Gerd Ulrich Bormann. In 1993, she received the Cultural Award of her hometown Osaka in the category of music/opera singing. Her repertoire includes, among others, Dorabella and Fiordiligi in Mozart's Così fan tutte, Countess Almaviva in "The Marriage of Figaro", Hanna Glawari in "The Merry Widow", Donna Anna in "Don Giovanni", Agathe in "Der Freischütz", Elisabeth in "Tannhäuser", Mimi in "La Bohème", and the Marschallin in "Der Rosenkavalier". She has performed Beethoven's 9th Symphony (over 150 times), Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, Haydn's The Seasons, Handel's Messiah, Mozart's Requiem, Dvorak's Requiem, Faure's Requiem, Verdi's Requiem, Vivaldi's Gloria, Webern's Cantata No. 2, Mahler's Symphony No. 4, among others, in numerous concert performances and lied recitals.
Kumiko Okabo-Bormann taught at the Soai University (Japan) and the UdK Berlin. For over 10 years, she also taught the subject of "German-language art songs" at the "Nichi-Doku Liederkreis" summer courses in Germany and Japan.