opera
World Premiere Review: Natasha at the New National Theatre Tokyo
On 11 August 2025, the New National Theatre Tokyo (NNTT), Japan’s premier performance venue, launched the boldly imaginative Natasha — a one-act, multilingual opera by Toshio Hosokawa with a libretto by Yoko Tawada. As the third new commission under Artistic Director Kazushi Ono, this production not only continues NNTT’s recent dedication to cultivating Japanese contemporary composers but also stakes a resonant claim in the global cultural conversation.
A Haunting Relfection on Humanity and Nature
Hosokawa’s score—which he has described as “a kind of prayer or requiem” influenced by the trauma of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake—anchors the opera in a meditative emotional space. The music unfolds through haunting silence, spectral orchestration, and evocative gestures, reminding the audience of nature’s awe-inspiring power and humanity’s recurring oblivion.
Universal Themes in Multilingual Texture
Tawada’s libretto layers languages—Japanese, German, Ukrainian, and more—mirroring the fractured human landscape, where displacement, war, and ecological degradation transcend linguistic borders. Natasha (Ilse Eerens) and Arato (Hiroka Yamashita) begin their journey without shared language, yet connect through shared trauma and empathy as they are guided by the Mephistopheles-like figure of Mephisto’s Grandson (Christian Miedl) through a symbolic descent into contemporary hells—each more surreal and devastating than the last.
Production Design and Dramatic Vision
Under the direction of Christian Räth, the staging is as refined as it is haunting. The sets (Daniel Unger), costumes (Mattie Ullrich), lighting (Rick Fisher), and video design (Clemens Walter), together with Sumihisa Arima’s electronic soundscapes, craft realms that blur the line between dream and nightmare. Visually and emotionally, the aesthetic evokes a cautionary fairy tale for our global moment, rich in symbolism yet grounded in human suffering.
A Resonant Cultural Statement
For Southeast Asian audiences, Natasha carries special relevance. Its cross-cultural narrative and thematic depth echo our own experiences of displacement, environmental anxieties, and linguistic plurality. By marrying Eastern spiritual sensibility (through Hosokawa’s sonic architecture) with global storytelling and Tawada’s multilingual poetic voice, Natasha models how Asian contemporary opera can speak powerfully both within and beyond regional boundaries.
Natasha is not simply an opera; it’s a cultural reckoning. It immerses us in a vision of modernity as apocalypse—yet it never relinquishes empathy. In its multilingual dialogue, ritualistic score, and stark aesthetics, it champions a truly global outlook rooted in Asian tradition and sensitivity. Hosokawa, Tawada, Ono, and their ensemble invite us to confront the chaos of our time—together, across languages, with open hearts.
For readers who believe in opera’s power to reflect our collective longings and fears, Natasha offers a profound, unforgettable passage into both darkness and light.
Also featured recently at the New National Theatre Tokyo….
Last June, the National Ballet of Japan’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Christopher Wheeldon was featured in thirteen performances at the New National Theatre Tokyo. The production was accompanied by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Based on “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by the famous British author Lewis Carroll. This production premiered at the Royal Ballet in the United Kingdom in 2011, enabled by a prominent line-up of artists, including British horeographer Christopher Wheeldon, film and television music composer Joby Talbot, and multiple award-winning designer, Bob Crowley.
It has swept the world and become part of the repertoire of the world’s leading ballet companies. In Japan, the only ballet company with permission to perform this piece is the National Ballet of Japan.
