|
|
| An Invitation to the
2003/2004 Opera Season |
As the next Artistic Director of the Opera Division of the New National Theatre,
Tokyo(NNTT), I am delighted to announce our program for the new season, which
will commence in the autumn of next year. In planning the program, my first consideration
was to develop a program that would meet the high standards of the opera-goers
who do us the honor of attending our performances as well as allow the NNTT to
rank with other distinguished opera houses around the world.
My tenure as artistic director will last three seasons, and during
that time I intend to chart a journey through the history of opera,
beginning with Mozart and continuing up to the 20th century. On this
journey, we will trace the evolution of the opera through the productions
created by our theater staff in cooperation with our stage directors,
conductors, and a very exciting cast of singers.
I hope that the theme we have adopted for the each of the three seasons
will make this journey even more irresistible. The theme for the 2003/2004
season is "The Fate of Men." In the operas that will be
presented, the characters will undergo the full range of experiences
encountered in daily life, the joys, sufferings, mysteries and dreams,
and come, in the end, to a new and higher philosophical understanding
of what life is all about. Each of the productions will present a
unique perspective on human fate as interpreted by our production
members. |
|
| |
| Le Nozze di Figaro |
| The 2003/2004 season will open with Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro
(The Marriage of Figaro), an immortal work that should be familiar
to all opera aficionados. As with any great work of art, it always
leads to new insights and discoveries. The first reason I chose this
masterpiece for the season opener is that Mozart's operatic works
are considered the foundation of modern opera history; second, it
is a representative example of the workings of fate on human life;
and, third, I felt that this work would serve as the best introduction
to the Mozart series that will be presented during my tenure at the
NNTT. The collaboration between Mr. Andreas Homoki, one of the greatest
opera stage directors in the world today, and the inimitable conductor
Mr. Ulf Schirmer, will lead the audience on a journey into the world
of Mozart filled with fresh wonders and revelations. |
| Les Contes d'Hoffmann |
|
The second opera for the season will be a new production for the
NNTT, Les Contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann), a work
by Offenbach that represents la belle epoch (the beautiful
period). This was the only grand opera created by this French composer
but it is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of the operatic
world. Because the work was left unfinished, it always leaves the
audience with many riddles to grapple with. The orchestra will be
conducted by Mr. Tetsuro Ban, one of the finest young conductors
in the world today. The stage director and stage art designer will
be Mr. Philippe Arlaud, the successor to Jean-Pierre Ponnelle who
directed Tannhäuser at this year's Bayreuth Festival, which
was conducted by Mr. Christian Thielemann. I am confident you will
enjoy the unique interpretation provided by these two men of Hoffmann,
a German writer who, through his literature, fled from reality into
a world of dreams and imagination.
|
| NARUKAMI and SHUNKAN |
| In the 2003/2004 season,too, Japanese operas will be presented at
the NNTT, Japan's first opera house, which celebrated its grand opening
with the staging of TAKERU. The two Japanese operas to be presented,
NARUKAMI and SHUNKAN, combine the traditional Japanese
theater forms of kabuki, noh and bunraku with
the traditional Western art form of opera, and thus should appeal
to an international audience. Their productions will be cosponsored
with the Nikikai Opera Foundation and conducted by Mr. Kazuyoshi Akiyama,
who has had the distinction of leading some of the best orchestras
in the world and is one of the few Japanese conductors world famous
for his baton technique. Mr. Akiyama, who has a profound knowledge
of both traditional Japanese art forms as well as western opera, will
undoubtedly breathe new life into these works, offering performances
that will appeal to general audiences as well as opera enthusiasts.
|
| Tales from Spain |
| The NNTT's performance of The Tales From Spain by Ravel,
which combines ballet with opera, will, I feel, be a unique and interesting
effort even by today's world standards. Although it may seem unusual
to audiences today for a stage performance to contain both opera and
ballet, in fact, this was a common art form in 19th-century Europe,
as anyone who familiar with the history of French opera will know.
At that time, these two forms were either staged together or else
major ballet scenes were incorporated into an opera, and the result
was invariably a great success with audiences. The conductor for our
production will be Mr. Marc Piollet, who has been appointed as the
next musical director of the Volksoper Wien. The stage director will
be Mr. Nicola Mussin, who occupies an important place as a new-generation
choreographer, and the art designer will be Mr. Davide Pizzigoni,
who has displayed his multifaceted talents as an architect, painter,
stage art designer and jewelry designer at Bvlgari. Production work
is already underway in close cooperation with Ms. Asami Maki, Artistic
Director for the NNTT's Ballet Division, whose support and advice
for this ambitious work has been invaluable. This presentation is
only possible because of NNTT's wonderful ballet company. I am sure
the production will be enjoyed by opera, ballet, and orchestra buffs
alike. |
| Götterdammerung |
| Götterdammerung (The Twilight of the Gods) is the final
opera in Wagner's tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring
of the Nibelung). NNTT has already performed Das Rheingold
(The Rhinegold) and Die Walkure (The Valkyrie), and these performances
have been held in such high esteem by international audiences that
they have been dubbed "The Tokyo Ring." Under the baton
of Mr. Jun Märkl and the stage direction of Mr. Keith Warner,
the fate of the Gods will reach its climax with this new production.
The NHK Symphony Orchestra, which is to play for Siegfried,
will also perform for this production. In the history of music, Wagner's
works have generated much controversy, but one thing can be said for
certain: They have the power to appeal to audiences of all generations. |
| Macbeth |
| Next comes Macbeth, which I consider particularly important
among Verdi's numerous operatic works. I am delighted that Mr. Hideki
Noda, an extraordinary genius in theatrical circles, has accepted
the commission to direct this masterpiece. His will team up with the
conductor Mr. Miguel Gomez Martinez to provide what I am certain will
be a most innovative production of Macbeth. I have seen several
of Mr. Noda's plays and was strongly attracted by both his unique
artistic vision and his interesting insights into the fate of human
beings. |
| Falstaff |
| We will conclude the new productions for the season with Falstaff,
which might be described as the last will and testament of Verdi and
Shakespeare. Falstaff, a man who has had the full range of human experiences,
stands at the last stage of his life with a detached smile on his
face. No one is more suited to direct this opera than Mr. Jonathan
Miller. His outstanding sense of humor, as well as his rich experience
and profound knowledge of life, make him the perfect director for
this work. The conductor will be Mr. Dan Ettinger, who, through his
youth and passion, will, I am sure, unleash the vast energy contained
in Verdi's work. |
|
| |
|
In addition to the operas mentioned above, NNTT will offer repeat performances
of Tosca, Salome and Carmen.
I also wish to introduce one of the major pillars of support for the NNTT:
the New National Theatre Chorus, which is led by Mr. Hirofumi Misawa,
an experienced chorus master. The Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and the
Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, working with the internationally renowned conductors
introduced above, will provide the musical identity for the performances
at the theater.
For each of the productions, we will offer a varied cast of singers ranging
from veterans with established international reputations to young singers
who are just starting out on international careers in the opera world
but who have already attracted public attention. Japanese singers who
are active on the world stage will return to their home stage at the NNTT
and grace us with their presence and I am sure that many of the Japanese
singers who have accumulated experience at the NNTT will later move out
into the world and achieve international success.
We are very excited about our 2003/2004 season and look forward to seeing
you at our performances.
|
Thomas Novohradsky
Artistic Consultant (Opera)
New National Theatre,Tokyo |
| |
| Major policy initiatives for the 2003/2004 Season |
- To develop the NNTT into an opera house that attracts international
attention
- To invite the audience to experience a "journey into the
history opera" from Mozart to 20th-century composers
- To adopt the theme "The Fate of Men" for the season's
new productions
- To increase the opera fan base through the performance of standard
operas
- To perform masterworks that are rarely performed in Japan
- To perform works written by Japanese composers
|
|
|
|
