秋天，是我們與藝術巨人們相遇的季節，5年來我們在「遇見巨人」系列中獲得滿滿的心靈豐收。Being, Soul, Core是我們在策展時放在心上的規尺，要無畏有為，得直指初心，還能衝撞經典！這得是什麼樣的藝術家與其特殊的勇氣，才能帶領我們站到高處，有更遠的視野望向世界呢！

2021年變形的病毒株一波波襲來，過去的種種認知、生活習慣、工作模式一再被打破。我們習以為常（或麻木不仁）的慣性被迫打亂重組，這樣的非常態考驗了我們的應變能力，也騰出接受新事物的空間！「線上觀演」與我們的距離到底是近？是遠？密集的網路活動到底是更親密？還是冷漠？然而，我確信我們追尋真善美的初心不變，讓藝術支撐著、陪伴著我們度過一道道的人生難題，豐富我們的心靈。今年秋，少了國際巡演節目，讓我們遇見更多勇於挑戰限制的國人藝術家。

今年「遇見巨人」不少挑戰經典文本的製作，臺中子弟王嘉明，帶著莎翁名作《理查三世》改編的《混音理查三世》來到歌劇院，以15世紀約克王朝的歷史呼應當今臺灣社會的亂象，跟莎翁大玩歷史辯證，「身聲分離」的演出形式，搭配大量韻腳的台詞，才氣縱橫，令人大呼過癮。國家文藝獎得主唐美雲、歌仔戲國寶小咪、臺灣京劇小天后黃宇琳聯手獻上《光華之君》，以日本經典小說《源氏物語》為靈感起點，穿梭虛實之間，體驗有情眾生的愛恨情仇。當代傳奇劇場吳興國經典作品《蛻變》，改編自卡夫卡同名經典小說，藉一場科技京劇的冒險在闊別8年後，再次提出「人類存在意義」的大哉問。江之翠劇場《行過洛津》，由國家文藝獎得主施叔青「臺灣三部曲」首部小說改編，在外亞維儂藝術演出時，驚艷全球觀眾，梨園戲與小劇場結合，南管精緻優美的古老靈魂不斷穿梭到現代劇場與觀眾相遇。

「似舞又不是」的兩個舞作《#是否》、《小螞蟻與機器人：遊牧咖啡館》讓我們看到編舞家不畏潮流的勇氣。歌劇院第一屆駐館藝術家布拉瑞揚帶著《#是否》回到歌劇院，將中劇院化身為卡拉OK包廂，療癒又宣洩的歌聲，唱出舞者的生命故事，也讓我們在他們的故事裡遇見自己、認識自己。編舞家黃翊為首次接觸舞蹈表演的觀眾創作《小螞蟻與機器人：遊牧咖啡館》，揮別過去的冷調色彩，以生活化咖啡館作為場景，科技不再冰冷，細節處盡是溫暖，是啟發孩子對科技、藝術好奇的作品。

大歌劇可以小而美嗎？古典樂派歌劇可否更有時代感？打破一年只做一齣歌劇的「傳統」，今年歌劇院邀請導演鴻鴻、指揮張尹芳與音樂學者焦元溥，將近4小時的華格納歌劇《唐懷瑟》以簡編精緻的semi-stage形式搬演；最後以丹麥皇家歌劇院版本的羅西尼喜歌劇《塞維亞理髮師》作為系列壓軸。丹麥導演馬丁‧林博以步調緊湊又不失詼諧的黑白默劇電影手法詮釋這齣經典作品，為平易近人的《塞維亞理髮師》增添新意，愉悅的音樂、幽默的劇情是歲末時節為顛簸的一年劃下溫馨句點的禮物。

雲破天青，願多年後，想起2021年的秋天，我們將會有這段共同面對「新常態」的記憶，我們不僅與巨人相遇，也都是「面對改變而無畏之人」。

Autumn marks the season when we encounter artistic giants. In the past five years, our hearts and spirits have been filled to the brim, thanks to “NTT Fall for Great Souls.” Being, Soul and Core are our guiding principles in programming; courageous in our actions, we always contemplate our original intentions, challenging conventional notions of what it means to be “classic”! How do these artists’ bold spirits propel us to summits that offer a full panorama of the world?

Wave after wave of the COVID virus and its variants have shocked the global community in 2021. Things we had known, lives we had lived, and how we once worked were shattered time and again. What we normally knew as habits (even if deadening) have been smashed and then reconceived. Such extreme conditions have tested our resilience, yet at the same time have provided us space to accept new things! How close or distant do we feel while watching online performances? Is our constant use of the internet creating intimacy or estranging our connection? Yet I firmly believe our original desire in pursuing truth, goodness and beauty never wavered; the arts are here to support us, keeping us company despite life’s vicissitudes, inspiring us with goodness. This fall may offer fewer international touring programs, but we gain in opportunities to witness and appreciate our own national artists stretching their own talents and imagination.

This year’s “Fall for Great Souls” offers quite a few productions that challenge standard interpretations of classic scripts. Taichung-born director WANG Chia-ming brings R3: The Remix Edition to the NTT. An adaptation of Shakespeare’s Richard III using the intrigues of the 15^th-century House of York as candid commentary on the turmoil in Taiwanese society today, WANG adds a level of historical dialectics to the Bard’s original. The unusual approach of “voice-body disassociation” and the inventiveness of intricate rhymes have proven to entrance and mesmerize the audience. The Storyteller and Her Dream is the fruit of collaboration among National Award for Arts winner TANG Mei-yun, Taiwanese opera icon Hsiao-mi and rising Peking opera star HUANG Yu-lin, stemming from The Tale of Genji traversing reality and imagination. Along the way, we encounter the complex web of relationships from love to enmity. After eight years, Contemporary Legend Theatre’s WU Hsing-kuo revisits his classic adaptation of Kafka’s Metamorphosis where Peking opera meets technological wizardry as he once again raises crucial questions of existentialism. Gang-a-Tsui Theater’s Passage to Lo-Jin is a stage adaptation of the first part of National Award for Arts winner SHIH Shu-ching’s Taiwan Trilogy. When it was presented at Avignon Off, this combination of traditional opera and studio theater impressed international audiences, meaningfully connecting touches of ancient nanguan music with the modern stage and theatergoers today.

Under the rubric of “This is Not Dance” are #Yes or No and Little Ant & Robot: A Nomad Café, two works showing how choreographers dare to buck trends. NTT’s inaugural Artist-in-Residence Bulareyaung brings #Yes or No to the NTT, transforming our Playhouse into a Karaoke room, where soothing yet cathartic voices narrate the lives of the dancers, motivating us to find ourselves in these intimate stories. HUANG Yi has created Little Ant & Robot: A Nomad Café for newcomers to the world of contemporary dance. Taking leave of his usual cool color palette, HUANG adopts a familiar café setting close to everyday life. Technology is no longer something that is cold to touch, and audiences notice heartwarming details that inspire child-like curiosity in technology and art.

Can grand opera be small and beautiful? Can Classical operas be contemporary? We break from our mode of producing one opera per year, inviting director Hung Hung, conductor CHANG Yin-fang and musicologist CHIAO Yuan-pu to put together a semi-staged opera concert of Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser with chamber orchestra, a monumental classic just under four hours in duration. “Fall for Great Souls” ends with a co-production with the Royal Danish Theatre—Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia directed by Martin Lyngbo—where the tight, comic storyline is treated with the aesthetics of black and white silent film, injecting new energy to the delightful music and humorous libretto. This heartwarming gift will mark the finale of 2021, as we draw this tumultuous year to a close.

The sky always brightens after clouds disperse. I hope that many years later, when we look back at the autumn of 2021, we’ll recall how all of us come face to face with the “new normal.” Not only will we have encountered great artists, we will have proven our courage in the face of change.