So this is how you serve an apple in Japan?

Rossini’s thrilling epic, his final masterpiece with the world’s most famous overture, is his most ambitious, forward-looking and vocally challenging opera. Having become the rallying cry of the 1830 revolution in France, Rossini’s final opera is nothing short of revolutionary itself. Retelling the legend of the Swiss folk hero based on Schiller’s play, Guillaume Tell is a grandiose ode to freedom. The story also features another focal point around the love between Arnold, a young Swiss man, and Princess Mathilde of the Habsburgs, and portrays the rich natural beauty of the Alps with superb music. At the final curtain, led from the pit by two harps, the voices of a sublime chorus transcends a story filled with bloodshed. For the first ever original-language production of Guillaume Tell in Japan, New National Theatre Tokyo has entrusted the production and staging to Yannis Kokkos, renowned worldwide as a director and designer. Under the baton of its Artistic Director Kazushi Ono, NNTT has assembled an all-star bel canto cast including Gezim Myshketa in title role, René Barbera as Arnold and Olga Peretyatko as Mathilde.  This production is brought to you by Slippedisc, courtesy of OperaVision.

The Plot:  a freedom fighter in Austrian-occupied Switzerland. An oppressive Habsburg governor. The most famous Swiss apple. And a love story that crosses national divides.

Sung in French.

Subtitles in Japanese, French and English.

Streamed on Friday 21st March 2025 at 1900 CET   /   1800  London  / 1300  NY