New National Theatre Tokyo

The New National Theatre, Tokyo (NNTT) is a centre for the performing arts, including opera, ballet, contemporary dance and drama. It is located in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo.

The construction of the NNTT was completed in February 1997, with its first public performances taking place in October 1997. The centre has been praised for its architecture and state-of-the-art modern theatre facilities, which is considered among the best in the world.

Besides the public performances, various enterprises are undertaken, such as the young artist training programmes (for ballet, opera, and theatre), theatre rental for other performing arts groups, performing arts related exhibitions, public usage of the video library and books, public performances for children and young students, the back stage tours, and most importantly, international exchanges for performing arts events, etc. Moreover, The Stage Set & Design Centre (located in Choshi city, Chiba prefecture), stores and exhibits used stage sceneries and costumes.

Management of NNTT including the enterprises in above is commissioned to New National Theatre Foundation (NNTF) from the independent administrative institution The Japan Arts Council. NNTT is managed by the funds placed in trust (including government grants), the admission revenues and the donations from many support company and supporting member, etc.

However, it is continuously criticized for its bureaucratic arts administration, which is very representative of usual Japanese politics. While generously financed by the Japanese government, major conductors, directors, and performing artists have all complained that their creative ideas are restricted by the bureaucratic style of the arts management.

Currently, the NNTT is alternatively known as Opera Palace.

Theatres and Performance Facilities

The NNTT building contains three main theatres:

• The Opera House (1814 seats)
• The Play House (1038 seats)
• The Pit (468 seats max)

New National Theatre Opera (NNTO)

In 2005, conductor Hiroshi Wakasugi was named artistic consultant to the opera division of the New National Theatre (also known as New National Theatre Opera, or NNTO). This post preceded his appointment as the next artistic director (i.e. Music Director of the New National Theatre), which began in September 2007. The company's productions are usually conservative, and the principal lead singers are frequently drawn from a circle of top foreign opera singers from Europe and elsewhere. World-class Japanese singers who are famous abroad are often invited to sing lead roles as well. To introduce Japanese-related works into the operatic world, the NNTO has embarked on . One notable production is

==New National Theatre Ballet (NNTB)== The current Artistic Director of the New National Theatre Ballet (otherwise known as NNTB)is Asami Maki, who previously lead the Maki Asami Ballet Troupe in Tokyo. Frequent foreign guest artists include Svetlana Zakharova and Denis Matvienko. The company's balletic identity draws from Russian, British, and French classical ballet traditions. David Bintley who is the current Artistic Director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet will lead the NNTB Company as the Co-Artistic Director with Asami Maki from 2010. The NNBT has performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC (February 2008), and will also perform as a guest company at the Bolshoi Theatre in September, 2009. The NNTB is striving to become Asia's best ballet company as well as an internationally recognized company (Top 10) in the next few years.

External Links

• Official Site
• New National Theatre Opera
• New National Theatre Ballet
• Historical Timeline of the NNTT