NATASHA Toshio Hosokawa – New National Theatre Tokyo

Arato, a Japanese man who lost his hometown and family in a tsunami, meets Natasha, an immigrant who has fled her devastated homeland. Although they don’t speak the same language, they are just able to convey to each other their respective names. They are soon confronted with the grandson of Mephistopheles, who guides them through the many hells of our time.

The internationally acclaimed composer Toshio Hosokawa has been commissioned by New National Theatre Tokyo and its Artistic Director Kazushi Ono to compose a new opera. After its world premiere in Japan in August 2025, it is now time for Natasha and its universal themes to be shared with the rest of the world on OperaVision. Japanese, Ukrainian, German, as well as English, French and Chinese – Yōko Tawada’s libretto blends languages in a story where the characters cannot understand each other’s words, yet connect with each other through empathy and shared traumas. From a destroyed forest and a sea drowned in plastic to the business hell on top of a skyscraper, Natasha (Ilse Eerens) and Arato (Hiroka Yamashita) descend through the circles of an inferno. But unlike Dante’s Divine Comedy, these visions of Hell feel all too close to the reality we live in.

Full performance streamed on OperaVision from 12 December 2025 at 19:00 CET to 12 June 2025 at 12:00 CET: https://operavision.eu/performance/na...

CAST

Natasha
Ilse Eerens

Arato
Hiroka Yamashita

Mephistos Enkel
Christian Miedl

Frau A
Mari Moriya

Frau B
Akiko Tomihira

Businessman A
Jun Bo Tang

Saxophone
Masanori Oishi

Electric Guitar
Gaku Yamada

Orchestra
Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra

Chorus
New National Theatre Chorus

Music
Toshio Hosokawa

Text
Yoko Tawada

Director
Christian Räth

Conductor
Kazushi Ono

Sets
Christian Räth
Daniel Unger

Costumes
Mattie Ullrich

Lights
Rick Fisher

Video
Clemens Walter

Choreography
Catherine Galasso

Electronic sound design
Sumihisa Arima

Chorus master
Kyohei Tomihira

Watch live streams as the performances themselves unfold in the opera house. Enjoy a variety of shows - including opera, operetta, musical theatre, dance, ballet and concerts. Opera connaisseur or curious newcomer, there is something for everyone on OperaVision.

Managed by Opera Europa, OperaVision is a freeview streaming platform supported by the European Union’s Creative Europe funding programme. Between 2025 and 2028, Creative Europe’s support will help Opera Europa to promote and train emerging artists working in opera and dance. Known as Opera Europa Next Generation, this initiative will give visibility and development opportunities to over 560 emerging artists – in person and online, including via OperaVision – and all thanks to the efforts of a consortium of 44 opera houses and talent development organisations from 17 European countries.

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