Duo Mythos is a unit with Momoko Tanno (singer/actor) and Asako Hirabayashi (composer/harpsichordist).
Momoko Tanno has appeared on many stages of the Twin Cities and beyond as a singer/actor including in the production of Don Juan Giovanni with Theatre de la Jeune Lune which won a Regional Tony Award, and Asako Hirabayashi is a McKnight Fellowship winner as a composer and as a harpsichord player.
DuoMythos performances are tailored for community settings and include spoken introductions, cultural context, and opportunities for audience engagement. The duo’s outreach-friendly format makes their program ideal for libraries, schools, senior centers, and cultural organizations seeking meaningful, accessible, and artistically rich programming.
Duo Mythos has a strong affinity for Latin American music and have performed them on different occasions. Some of the highlights include a heartfelt moment when we performed an aria from the opera written by a Mexican composer, Daniel Catan, Florencia en el amazonas for a mostly Hispanic community, and singing an aria from Madama Butterfly for a Butterfly themed concert.
Teaching Artist Statement
Our commitment to our community led us to each other first at the Minneapolis Japanese School where our children went to, and evolved out to a larger audience as we came together to organize numerous fundraising for the victims of the Earthquake in Japan in 2011. Since then, we have collaborated on the operas that Asako composed, such as Yukionna (Snow Witch) and Hebionna (Snake Woman) thanks to the McKnight Fellowship, Minnesota State Arts Board, Jerome, and Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and Opera America Discovery grants.
We have performed on numerous occasions with the Japan America Society of Minnesota, the Japanese School communities, nursing homes, schools, office building lunch hour concerts, and Schubert Club Courtroom concerts. We would love to share a part of our culture through excerpts from this opera, and also introduce Japanese folk songs as well. The themes from our folktales and culture are deeply connected to our land, nature, and respect for all living things.
Program Offerings
Performance
DuoMythos: Stories Across Cultures
Featuring soprano Momoko Tanno and composer/pianist/harpsichordist Asako Hirabayashi
DuoMythos offers a cross-cultural concert experience that brings together classical music and folklore. The duo, soprano Momoko Tanno and composer/keyboardist Asako Hirabayashi, presents a program that includes original opera arias, reimagined folk songs, and Latin American art songs and operas that resonate with audiences of diverse backgrounds.
At the heart of the program are selections from Hirabayashi’s original operas Yukionna (“Snow Woman”) and Hebionna (“Snake Woman”), inspired by Japanese mythology. These arias explore themes of love, transformation, and identity, offering an intimate look at timeless legends through a modern lens.
Also presented are opera arias and songs from other countries and languages such as selections of arias by Mexican composer Daniel Catan’s Florencia en el Amazonas, and songs by Brazilian composer Villa Lobos, and Argentinian composer Guastavino and more.
With warmth, artistry, and a passion for connection, DuoMythos invites audiences on a musical journey across borders and time.
