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Natsumi Kon (昆 夏美, Kon Natsumi, born 28 June 1991) is a Japanese musical actress and singer.

Born from Hachiōji, Tokyo, she graduated from Senzoku Gakuen College of Music Faculty of Music Musical Course. She is represented with Toho Entertainment. While studying at the university, she debuted professionally as Juliette of the musical Roméo et Juliette, and later appeared to her topical work such as the musicals Hamlet, Les Misérables, Miss Saigon and so on, and is called the "new-generation diva of the musical world". She also debuted as a singer with "Watashi wa Sōzō suru".

Biography, personal life

She liked to sing from a young age, and also to play and dance, and from 2003 to 2006 she belonged to the Children's Theatre Ōkina Yume and acted primarily in leading roles. She was determined to aim for a musical actress when she was in the third grade of junior high school and went to Senzoku Gakuen High School's music department. In 2009, when was on third grade high school, she was selected as the role of the girl Anne in the music play Anne of Green Gables sponsored by the DPI-NGO UN Classical Live Association.

In 2010, she studied at the Senzoku Gakuen High School Music School from the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music Faculty of Music Musical Course. She passed the audition of Toho Entertainment in 2011 while enrolled in her second year of college, and in the heroine audition of the musical Roméo et Juliette which received in less than a month after entering the office, she was selected as Juliette from among many candidates, which made her major work pro debut. Her first starring in the stage Yūdoku Shōnen that became her first straight play in the same year. After that she also appeared in the topic's work by acting as the heroine Ophelia of the musical Hamlet and roles of Éponine and Fantine of the musical Les Misérables, and attracted attention as the "new-generation diva of the musical world" from her singing ability.

Meanwhile, in 2012, she made her first television drama appearance as Clara in TV Asahi's Murder at Mt. Fuji, and in 2013 she debuted as a singer with the opening theme "Watashi wa Sōzō suru" in the television anime Majestic Prince.

When she graduated from the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music Faculty of Music Musical Course in 2014, she played in the musicals The Addams Family as Wednesday Addams and Miss Saigon as Kim. In addition, she was in charge of opening theme "Niji no kakera" of the TV anime One Week Friends as a singer.

In October 2016, her performance in the Imperial Theater of the musical Miss Saigon which was scheduled to appear was cancelled for the treatment of the nodule of her vocal folds, after surgery and rehabilitation, she returned from the first day of her Nagoya performance on 19 January 2017.

In April 2017, she acted as a voice actress of the heroine Belle played by Emma Watson through an audition at the Japanese dub version of the Walt Disney Pictures live-action version of Beauty and the Beast.

Jazz pianist Ai Kuwabara was her high school classmate.

Appearances

Musicals

• Anne of Green Gables (Apr–Oct 2009) – as Anne Shirley
• Roméo et Juliette (Sep–Oct 2011) – as Juliette
• Hamlet (Feb–Mar 2012) – as Ophelia
• Songs for a New World (Aug 2012)
• Les Misérables – as Éponine
  • (Apr–Nov 2013)
  • (Apr–Sep 2015)
  • (May–Jul 2017)
  • (May–Oct 2019)
• Sherlock Holmes –Anderson Ie no Himitsu– – as Lucy (Jan 2014)
• The Addams Family – as Wednesday Addams
  • (Apr–May 2014)
  • (Oct–Dec 2017)
• Miss Saigon – as Kim
  • (Jul–Sep 2014)
  • (Oct 2016-Jan 2017)
  • (Mar-Jun 2020)
  • (Aug-Oct 2022)
• First Date (Nov–Dec 2014) – as Allison
• Blood Brothers (Feb–Mar 2015) – as Linda
• Grand Hotel (Apr–May 2016) – as Frida Flaemmchen
• Coin Locker Babies (Jun–Jul 2016) – as Anemones
• Nine Tales –Kyūbiko no Monogatari– (Jan 2018) – as Baika
• The Secret Garden – as Martha
  • (Jun–Jul 2018)
• Marie Antoinette – as Margrid Arnaud
  • (Sep 2018–Jan 2019)
  • (Jan–Feb 2021)
• Love Letters – as Melissa
  • (November 1, 2019)
• Rockabilly Jack – as Lucie Jones
  • (14 September-30 December 2019)
• Human history – as Young Woman
  • (23 October-3 November 2020)
• Merrily We Roll Along – as Beth Spencer
  • (17-31 May 2021)
• The Last Five Years – as Cathy Hiatt
  • (28 June-18 July 2021)
• DOGFIGHT – as Rose
  • (17 September-24 October 2021)
• The Rocky Horror Show – as Janet Weiss
  • (13 January-28 February 2022)
• Next to Normal – as Natalie Goodman
  • (25 March-17 April 2022)
• Matilda – as Miss Honey
  • (Spring 2023)
• Tootsie – as Sandy Lester
  • (10-30 January 2024)
• In This Corner of the World – as Suzu Urano
  • (May-July 2024)
• Les Misérables – as Fantine
  • (December 2024–June 2025)

Stage

• Yūdoku Shōnen (Nov 2011) starring; as Non-toxic girl
• Rōdoku Geki Watashi no Atama no Naka no Keshi Gomu 6th letter (31 May – 1 Jun 2014)
• Music Play The Little Prince (Dec 2015 – Jan 2016) – as the Prince

TV dramas

• Murder at Mt. Fuji (Apr–Jun 2012, EX) – as Clara
• Boogie Woogie (2024, NHK) – as Yoshiko Yamaguchi (Li Hsiang-lan)

TV anime

• Majestic Prince (Apr 2013 –, JAITS) – as Kon Natsumi (GDF public relations officer)

Films

• Beauty and the Beast (2017, Premium Dubbed version) – Starring; as Belle

Live

• Animelo Summer Live 2015 -The Gate- (28 Aug 2015)

Discography

Singles

Tie-ups

References

Notes

1. Double cast with Rina Frank.
2. ^ Double cast with Yuya Kido.
3. Triple cast with Rena Sasamoto and Rina Chinen.
4. Heroine. Double cast with Rina Frank
5. ^ Quadruple cast with Rena Sasamoto, Aya Hirano and Sayaka Watabiki.
6. Triple cast with Fuka Yuduki and Rinko Matsubara
7. Triple cast with Fuka Yuduki and Tomona Yabiku
8. Triple cast with Rena Sasamoto and Rina Chinen.
9. Triple cast with Rena Sasamoto and Sooha Kim.
10. Quadruple cast with Mitsuki Takahata, Tomona Yabiku and Sakurako Ohara.
11. Triple cast with Mitsuki Takahata and Tomona Yabiku.
12. Double cast with Marie Ueno.
13. Double cast with Erina Mano.
14. Double cast with Sonim.
15. Double cast with Sonim.
16. Double cast with Tomona Yabiku.
17. Double cast with Miyu Sakihi.
18. Double cast with Sakurako Ohara.
19. Triple cast with Erika Ikuta and Haruka Kinoshita.

Sources

1. ^ Kon, Natsumi (19 Mar 2014). "卒業" (in Japanese). Natsumi Kon official blog "Kon memo'!". Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.
2. ^ "昆夏美：憧れの「レ・ミゼラブル」出演に「幸せ」 注目の新人ミュージカル女優の素顔". Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). 1 Sep 2013. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.
3. Kon, Natsumi (23 Aug 2013). "【昆夏美 interview：vol.2】ミュージカル『レ・ミゼラブル』エポニーヌ役への熱い思いとは?"". TV Dogatch (Interview) (in Japanese). Vol. 2. Archived from the original on 2014-03-22. Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.
4. "新人ミュージカル女優・昆夏美「音楽は身体の一部」 今後の展望と揺るぎない決意". Oricon Style (in Japanese). Oricon. 21 Aug 2013. Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.
5. ^ "2009年 キャスト". Life concert music play 'Anne of Green Gables' (in Japanese). DPI-NGO UN Classical Live Association. Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.
6. "シンデレラ女優昆夏美が２大ヒロイン役". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 28 Jul 2011. Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.
7. "Wキャストのジュリエット 昆夏美・フランク莉奈対談". Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 8 Nov 2011. Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.
8. "昆夏美、新曲はアニメ『一週間フレンズ。』OP曲 川嶋あいが作詞作曲". Oricon Style (in Japanese). Oricon. 17 Mar 2014. Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.
9. "昆夏美 声帯結節で「ミス・サイゴン」休演「大変心苦しい」". Sponichi Annex (in Japanese). 13 Oct 2016. Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.
10. "昆夏美「ミス・サイゴン」大阪公演も休演 声帯結節治療「頑張ります!」". Daily Sports online (in Japanese). 13 Dec 2016. Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.
11. "昆夏美、声帯結節で降板の「ミス・サイゴン」復帰していた!". Sanspo.com (in Japanese). Sankei Digital. 23 Jan 2017. Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.
12. Totsui, Yasuyuki (19 Apr 2017). "【私の時間 シネマ】 映画「美女と野獣」ヒロイン・ベルの声優、昆夏美 「まさか私が。夢のようです」". Sankei West (in Japanese). Sankei Digital. Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.
13. Kon, Natsumi (29 Jul 2013). "今日" (in Japanese). Natsumi Hoshi official blog. Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.
14. "生命のコンサート 音楽劇 赤毛のアン" (in Japanese). Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.
15. "ミュージカル ロミオ&ジュリエット" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2013-06-24. Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.
16. Heroine. "ミュージカル ハムレット公演情報 - 演劇ライフ" (in Japanese). Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.
17. "song for a new world-新しい世界の扉を開ける14の物語-公演情報 - 森ノ宮ピロティホール" (in Japanese). Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.
18. "ミュージカル レ・ミゼラブル" (in Japanese). Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.
19. Kon, Natsumi (21 May 2016). あの衝撃作がついに舞台化。『コインロ/ "昆夏美 あの衝撃作がついに舞台化。『コインロッカー・ベイビーズ』に出演" (Interview) (in Japanese). Tokyo Headline. Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.
20. "cube presents 有毒少年" (in Japanese). Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.
21. "朝ドラ「ブギウギ」李香蘭役は昆夏美、「夜来香」を中国語で歌唱". Natalie. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
22. "昆夏美＆山崎育三郎！「美女と野獣」吹き替え版キャストにミュージカル俳優ずらり". Eiga.com (in Japanese). 31 Jan 2017. Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.
23. "昆夏美のCDシングルランキング". Oricon Style (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.
24. "劇場版「マジェプリ」主題歌は昆夏美「とても光栄に思っています」". Music Natalie (in Japanese). 8 Sep 2016. Retrieved 27 Jan 2018.

External links

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Natsumi Kon official blog "Kon memo'!" (in Japanese)

• Japanese musical theatre actresses
• Japanese women pop singers
• Anime singers
• Singers from Tokyo
• 1991 births
• Living people
• 21st-century Japanese actresses