Announcement of the Decision on Mr. Thomas Novohradsky’s Inauguration as Artistic Director (Opera)

We are pleased to announce that it was officially decided on July 1 that Mr. Thomas Novohradsky, Artistic Consultant (Opera) of the New National Theatre, Tokyo, will take office as Artistic Director (Opera) of the NNTT this autumn.  At the first 2003 session of the Board of Directors held on June 19, the official decision on his inauguration had been carried over to the next session.  The opinion of each director was subsequently confirmed in writing again, and as a result approval was obtained from a majority of directors.  His term of office as Artistic Director will be from October 1, 2003 to June 30, 2006, and his responsibilities will include selecting programs, as well as the casts and production staff for each program, for the NNTT’s opera performances in the forthcoming three seasons, including the 2003/2004 season for which the program lineup has already been announced.

We are also pleased to announce that with his inauguration as Artistic Director, it has been decided to hold a discussion forum between the NNTT and Japanese opera companies in order to maintain favorable and harmonious relations between the two.

Mr.Thomas Novohradsky

Mr. Thomas Novohradsky graduated from The University of Music and Dramatic arts in Vienna in 1980.  In the same year, he made his debut as Assistant stage director at the Theatre, St.Gallen in Switzerland.  After becoming Assistant stage director at the Wiener Staatsoper in 1982, he worked as Assistant stage director at the Teatro alla Scala, as well as the Salzburg Festival, Bregenz Festival and other musical events.  From 1993, he worked as Production manager at the Wiener Staatsoper.  He served as Production manager for the Wiener Staatsoper’s 1994 Japan tour.  At the NNTT, he was Researcher from 1999, and on June 1, 2001, he became Artistic Consultant, the post he has held to the present day.