Theaters in Nagoya were aghast when Yoko Matsuo came calling. Even though she was born in the city and is conductor and director of the Aichi Prefecture Symphony Orchestra, her plan to stage Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni" in the style of Japan's most revered and challenging dramatic form, noh, created outrage. Luckily, the last organization she approached -- a brand-new noh theater with a management open to ideas -- was excited by the project.

The result is that Matsuo's interesting -- but, as even she recognizes, oddball -- creation will be Nagoya Noh Gakudo's opening production, running four days from June 27. Because the characters have to sing, masks are out. And when asked how she will handle the slow movements of those onstage with the fast passages of music, she admitted that really, until she brought all the elements together onstage, she had absolutely no idea.

"There are many problems," she acknowledged, "like where do we put the orchestra." (Noh theaters have seats ranked to the front of the stage.) "The only space is at the sides, traditionally filled with rakes, sand and stones, so I'm planning to erect platforms over the top. Where will I be? In the center front row, wearing purple 'hakama,' sitting down."