John Adams: Nixon in China

Live recording from the Stuttgart State Opera

Besides the landing on the moon by the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, Richard Nixon’s meeting with China’s leader Mao Zedong in February 1972 then represented one of the biggest media spectacles in history. Nixon himself established the reference between the two events: “We came in peace for all mankind” not only marked the lunar module Eagle’s landing spot – Nixon also spoke of it into the microphones just before his departure to China. It was not John Adam’s aim to create a superficial or even a caricaturing representation of Nixon’s visit when composing his opera. He attempted to create a “heroic opera” about the construction of modern myths by using archetypical characters and situations. Director Marco Štorman stages Adams’ minimal music opera as a deconstruction review about the power of images, the politics of staging and the staging of politics.

• Release date
• May 11, 2019
• Runtime
• 162 min
• Genres
• Music
• Director
• Marco Štorman

Cast

Michael Mayes Richard Nixon Matthias Klink Mao Tse-tung Katherine Manley Pat Nixon Gan-ya Ben-gur Akselrod Chiang Ch’ing Shigeo Ishino Henry Kissinger Jarett Ott Chou En-lai Ida Ränzlöv First Secretary to Mao Fiorella Hincapié Second Secretary to Mao