Director
Die Walküre (Hawaii Opera Theatre)
"Director Henry Akina, HOT's general and artistic director since 1996, under whose leadership the company has flourished, cast the opera with precision. HOT's production was neither old-school staid nor avant-garde bizarre but a delightful reimagining with great singing, creative sets and costumes and smooth staging... Akina paced the staging so that it flowed smoothly in and around the music, allowing singing to arise naturally from movement and movement to fill the aural spaces between sung lines."
"... a lyrical rendering of Wagner's score that suited the direction of Henry Akina, who emphasized the intimate family aspect of the tragedy... The first act finale tingled the spine, the Death Annunciation confrontation was extremely moving and Wotan's farewell was emotionally draining. The fiery final tableau was visually stunning as the set collapsed along with Wotan's dreams."
Madama Butterfly (Savonlinna Opera Festival)
"The 2009 Savonlinna Festival has got off to a fine start with a new production of Madama Butterfly. The Asian-American production team of Henry Akina (director), Dean Shibuya (set designer) and Anne Namba (costumes) have synthesized various ideas ranging from well-observed socio-cultural detail to touches of Japanese theatrical fantasy and come up with an intriguing whole... For the lengthy introduction to the third act Henry Akina has created a brilliantly effective scene: Cio-Cio-San's dream. Goro appears, once again offering the hand of Prince Yamadori while the Bonze glowers from the opposite side of the stage. A smiling Pinkerton suddenly appears, hugs his little son and the reunited family poses for a photograph. The sweet dream suddenly melts away, rendering the ensuing final act even more poignant."
"Stumme Diener, schwarz gewandet und vermummt, assistieren den Solisten und sorgen für szenische Effekte, wenn sie etwa während des Liebesduetts im ersten Akt die Bühne mit Papierlaternen dekorieren. Die stärkste Regieidee hatte Akina indes für das Vorspiel zum dritten Akt, das er als (Wunsch-)Traumbild der Butterfly inszeniert hat: Hochzeitsvermittler und abgewiesene Freier sind in den Hintergrund verbannt, der ersehnte Pinkerton erscheint, umarmt Frau und Kind, und alle drei posieren für den Fotografen eines glücklichen Familienbilds. Sofort danach löst sich der Moment des Glücks jedoch eilends wieder auf, die Realität kehrt zurück, und der Schlussakt wirkt durch diesen Kontrast grausam ernüchternd."
(Silent prop-men, wrapped in black with hidden faces, assist the soloists and provide of scenic effects, such as when they decorate the stage with paper lanterns during the love duet. The strongest directing idea that Akina had was for the prologue to the third act, that he staged as the dream-wish (Wunschtraum) of Butterfly: Marriage broker and rejected suitor are banished into the background, the long awaited Pinkerton appears, embraces wife and child and all three pose for a photographer who snaps a happy family portrait. Immediately the moment of good fortune hasitly dissolves, reality returns, and the final act seems cruelly sobering after this contrast.)
Don Carlo (Opera Hong Kong)
"Fortunately, ... the director Henry Akina's momentum kept any momentary bumps from derailing the ride."