John Adams: Nixon in China Backdrop Blur
John Adams: Nixon in China Poster
Germany
10.0 2h 42m

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.

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Top Cast

  • Michael Mayes

    Michael Mayes

    Richard Nixon

  • Matthias Klink

    Matthias Klink

    Mao Tse-tung

  • Katherine Manley

    Katherine Manley

    Pat Nixon

  • Gan-ya Ben-gur Akselrod

    Gan-ya Ben-gur Akselrod

    Chiang Ch’ing

  • Shigeo Ishino

    Shigeo Ishino

    Henry Kissinger

  • Jarett Ott

    Jarett Ott

    Chou En-lai

  • Ida Ränzlöv

    Ida Ränzlöv

    First Secretary to Mao

  • Fiorella Hincapié

    Fiorella Hincapié

    Second Secretary to Mao

  • Luise von Garnier

    Luise von Garnier

    Third Secretary to Mao

Overview

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.

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