Nixon in China (opera)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Operas by John Adams |
|---|
Nixon in China (1987) |
Nixon in China (1985-87) is an opera with music by the American composer John Adams and a libretto by Alice Goodman, about the visit of Richard Nixon to China in 1972, where he met with Mao Zedong and other Chinese officials.
The work was commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Houston Grand Opera and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It premiered at the Houston Grand Opera, October 22, 1987 in a production by Peter Sellars with choreography by Mark Morris.
The opera focuses on the personalities and personal histories of the six key players, Nixon and his wife Pat, Jiang Qing (spelled "Chiang Ch'ing" in the libretto) and Chairman Mao ("Mao Zedong"), and the two close advisors to the two parties, Henry Kissinger and Zhou Enlai ("Chou En-lai"). It is composed of three acts. The first details the anticipation and arrival of the Nixon cortege and the first meeting and evening in China. The second act shifts focus to Pat Nixon, as she makes tours of rural China, including an encounter at a pig farm. The second scene includes a performance of a Communist propaganda play, in which first Pat Nixon, then her husband and then Jiang Qing, intercede in the performance. The last act chronicles the last night in China, in which the characters dance a foxtrot, their thoughts wandering to their own pasts.
Musically, the opera perhaps owes more influence to minimalism than any Asian styles. (John Adams adapted the foxtrot theme from the last act into a concert piece entitled "The Chairman Dances", published before the opera in 1985. In the intervening period, Adams switched publishers, hence the Foxtrot for Orchestra being published by G. Schirmer and the opera by Boosey & Hawkes.) The libretto, by contrast, was written completely in rhymed, metered couplets, reminiscent of poetic and theatrical styles native to China.
Contents |
[edit] Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, October 22, 1987 (Conductor: John DeMain) |
|---|---|---|
| Richard Nixon | baritone | James Maddalena |
| Pat Nixon | soprano | Carolann Page |
| Chou En-lai | baritone | Sanford Sylvan |
| Mao Tse-tung | tenor | John Duykers |
| Henry Kissinger | bass | Thomas Hammons |
| Chiang Ch'ing | soprano | Trudy Ellen Craney |
| Nancy T'sang, first secretary to Mao | mezzo-soprano | |
| Second secretary to Mao | mezzo-soprano | |
| Third secretary to Mao | mezzo-soprano | |
| Dancers, militia, citizens of Beijing | ||
[edit] Synopsis
[edit] Act 1
The opera begins at Beijing Airport. A detachment of Chinese troops marches on to the stage and sings a 1930s Red Army song, The Three Main Rules of Discipline and Eight Points of Attention. As the soldiers wait, an airplane taxis and lands on the stage - the Nixons and Henry Kissinger disembark and are greeted by Chou Enlai. As Nixon is introduced to various Chinese officials by Chou, he sings of his hopes and fears for his historic visit.
Later, Richard Nixon and Kissinger visit Mao's study along with Chou. While Nixon attempts to set out his stall with a simple and simplistic vision of peace between America and China, Mao wishes to discuss philosophy with Nixon and speaks in riddles. The visit is not entirely a success, and the elderly Mao is soon worn out. Chou departs with Nixon and Kissinger.
On the first night of the visit, a great feast for the American delegation is held in the Great Hall of the People. The Nixons and Chou gradually relax in one another's company as good food and strong drink takes its effect. Chou rises to make a toast to the American delegation, full of fulsome praise and wishes for peaceful co-existence. Nixon responds in kind, congratulating the Chinese for their hospitality and recanting his previous opposition to China. The party continues with mutual compliments and toasting.
[edit] Act 2
Pat Nixon is being escorted to various showcases of contemporary Chinese life - a glass factory, a health centre, pig farm and a primary school. However, the language of Pat's Chinese guides is stilted and formal - they hint darkly of the repressive side of Chinese life that lies underneath the façade shown to foreign dignitaries. Pat sings an aria of her own hopes for the future, a peaceful future of modesty and good neighbourliness, a future based on the values of the American heartland.
Later that night, the Nixons attend the Chinese opera, to see a piece written by Madam Mao called The Red Detachment of Women. The piece is a simplistic display of politicised music-theatre, with the oppressed peasants of a tropical island saved from their brutal landlord by heroic women of the Red Army.
However, somehow the main characters are drawn into the opera, each revealing their true nature, with Pat Nixon defending the weak, Kissinger siding with the brutal landlord and Madam Mao's desire to save the peasants at all costs leading her to become more brutal than the landlord was in the first place. Eventually, a riot develops on stage with Chou and Madam Mao on opposite sides - the opera has become a rerun of the Cultural Revolution.
[edit] Act 3
On the Americans' final night in Beijing, it has become apparent to all that there will be no great breakthrough -- the Shanghai Communiqué is no more than words, a face-saving formula for the world's press to buy into. The main characters look back over their lives -- the Maos and the Nixons look back to the struggles of their early years together, Richard Nixon recalls his younger days as a sailor. Only Chou looks deeper, asking "how much of what we did was good?", before casting doubts aside and wearily carrying on with his work.
[edit] Reception
Nixon in China is often considered[weasel words] one of the major operas of the 20th century. Even after the end of the Cold War that served as the opera's backdrop, both the music and the libretto stand out for their sophistication and accessibility.[citation needed]
The reputation of the opera was to a significant measure driven by the 1988 recording with the original cast and the Orchestra of St. Luke's conducted by Edo de Waart (Nonesuch Records 79177), a strongly casted, vibrant performance by musicians with great personal commitment to the piece, not only among the soloists but also among the orchestra and chorus.[citation needed] Baritones Sanford Sylvan (Chou) and James Maddalena (Nixon) stand out for particularly fine performances.[citation needed]
Since the year 2000, several new productions of the opera have been staged and well received, including a noteworthy 2006 production by the Chicago Opera Theater.[1] In 2005, a few pieces from Adams' opera were selected as part of an eight-hour soundtrack for the computer game "Sid Meier's Civilization IV", representing the modern era.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Nixon in China page from John C. Adams' official site
- Nixon in China: A Great American Opera, by Patrick J. Smith
- "Nixon in China", review by James Wierzbicki, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 1, 1987.
- "Nixon in China", review by Donal Henahan, The New York Times, October 24, 1987.
- "Nixon in China", review by Julie DuRose, Aisle Say.
- "Nixon in China", review by Erica Jeal, The Guardian, June 19, 2006.
- DVD from House of Opera.
