The Mice War Returns! When David Chesky’s opera for children, The Mice War, was presented at the Experimental Theater in Taipei in 2009, it was described by Zhao Ziqiang as “a wonderful, imaginative journey.” And indeed it is. In The Mice War, American composer David Chesky ̶ pianist, producer, arranger, and co-founder of the audiophile label Chesky Records ̶ relates the story of a peaceful mouse named Albert who is caught up in an absurd war between Blue Mice, who eat pink cheese and red mice who eat yellow cheese. This 80-minute stage work, presented in Mandarin here in Taipei, has also been seen to huge success in Polish, English, Italian and Portuguese. Chesky’s association with the NSO goes back to the 2008-2009 season, when he was the orchestra’s composer-in-residence.