La mer. Das meer. The Sea. Out of the darkness, hushed voices mimic the murmur of waves, whispering the word for “sea” in 36 different languages.
This intricate cascade of sound is the start of “Natasha,” a multilayered, multilingual opera that opens Aug. 11 at the New National Theatre, Tokyo (NNTT) in Shinjuku with four performances concluding on Aug. 17.
On the liminal shore of a primordial sea, two displaced youths, Natasha and Arato, meet for the first time. They don’t speak the same language, but they connect through shared suffering. Together, they embark on a journey through the hellish realities of the modern world, guided by Mephisto’s grandson. Seven levels of hell unfold as they travel through environmental destruction, the blight of consumerism and the devastation of war, depicted through distinctly symbolic realms like a barren forest devoid of trees or a chaotic business hell with relentless industry.
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