Dr. Kunio Hara is Associate Professor of Music History at the University of South Carolina. His research interests include operas of Giacomo Puccini, musical representations of nostalgia, and music in animated films of Studio Ghibli. He is also the author of Joe Hisaishi’s Soundtrack for “My Neighbor Totoro.” He has also published articles on Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, La fanciulla del West, Il tabarro, and Turandot as well as an article on Tōru Takemitsu’s Nostalghia for solo violin and string orchestra. He has given public talks on Madama Butterfly around the U.S. for the Metropolitan Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, The Atlanta Opera, and Portland Opera.
