Words by Artistic Director- 2025 NTT Fall for Great Souls
Fall for Great Souls Once More: A Decade of Reverie
On September 30, 2016, the National Taichung Theater officially opened its doors. In the last quarter of 2025, the “Fall for Great Souls” series marks the beginning of a three-part signature cycle celebrating its 10th anniversary. With twelve captivating performances, the series serves as a thread that weaves together the most unforgettable moments and beloved artists from the past, inviting them back to the stage for an encore of artistic brilliance.
The Kiss & Cry Collective, which previously brought us Cold Blood, now returns under the name Astragales, presenting the iconic Kiss & Cry. Romeo Castellucci, who has graced our stage with Democracy in America and BROS, will join forces with the legendary Isabelle Huppert, star of La Cerisaie (The Cherry Orchard), to present Bérénice. Apichatpong Weerasethakul, whose Fever Room once illuminated the Grand Theater, brings his debut VR work A Conversation with the Sun, which intriguingly revisits echoes of his past creations.
This year's flagship opera, Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi, will pay tribute to the timeless production by the late Australian opera director Moshinsky.Internationally acclaimed pianist Meng-Chieh LIU will offer two solo recitals to commemorate the theatre's 10th anniversary. The first recital will present piano works adapted from opera selections, a fitting homage to the theater's milestone. In the second recital, LIU will delve into the intricate art of the fugue, displaying his exceptional mastery of this complex form.
For the first time, the theater will host the renowned Italian symphony orchestra, the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, celebrated for its premiere of Pines of Rome. Their performance will provide a rare opportunity to experience the distinctive “Golden Italian Sound” that has earned them worldwide acclaim.
Celebrating its 50th anniversary, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, alongside the 30th anniversary of Legend Lin Dance Theatre, are both esteemed, long-standing pillars of Taiwan's dance history. Having once mesmerized the NTT with unforgettable productions such as Anthem to the Fading Flowers and Song of Pensive Beholding, Legend Lin returns with a re-staging of their 2017 masterpiece The Eternal Tides—undoubtedly another classic. Cloud Gate, under the visionary leadership of second-generation Artistic Director CHENG Tsung-lung, embarks on a new path. As one of the few choreographers to intertwine dance and sound in such a symbiotic manner, his creations, from 13 Tongues to the forthcoming ALL EARS, breathe life into Cloud Gate as a profoundly organic ensemble. Their new work promises to be nothing short of extraordinary.
Classicism and counter-tradition have always been at the heart of the Fall for Great Souls series. The Tang Mei Yun Taiwanese Opera Company, long a dear friend of the NTT, presents The Tide in Her Dream, a retelling of history not from a male perspective, but through the romantic escapades of the “Pirate Queen” Tsai Khian Ma. GuoGuang Opera Company's Dreaming of the Red Chamber—Qianlong and Heshen uses literary metaphor to reflect the rise and fall of the Qing Dynasty. In Blood Brothers, the Jin Kwei Lo Puppetry Company reimagines the legendary chivalrous assassin Jing Ke, who, after his death, is contrarily transformed into a villain tormenting the ghosts of the deceased. The making of Berlin may seem to tell the straightforward story of a performance project by the Berliner Philharmoniker at the end of World War II, but as the plot unfolds, its truths are continuously upended.
A decade slips by in the blink of an eye—what great souls still linger in your mind? Don't miss this chance to fall for them once more.
—Joyce Chiou, General and Artistic Director