Opera on 3 12.02.2011 Nixon in China

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

One of my favourite modern operas.

"Live from the New York Metropolitan Opera, John Adams's Nixon in China makes its debut at the Met in the same production first seen at ENO in 1987. In February 1972 President Nixon and his wife visit Chairman Mao in Communist China. The opera explores this legendary moment in American history, and the political and cultural differences which arise between the two leaders. Adam's wonderfully energetic score is conducted by the composer, with James Maddalena reprising Nixon, a role which he has made his own.

"Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff.

"Richard Nixon ..... James Maddalena (Baritone)
Pat Nixon ..... Janis Kelly (Soprano)
Chou En-lai ..... Russell Braun (Baritone)
Mao Tse-tung ..... Robert Brubaker (Tenor)
Henry Kissinger ..... Richard Paul Fink (Bass)
Chiang Ch'ing ..... Kathleen Kim (Soprano)
Nancy T'sang, first secretary to Mao ..... Ginger Costa-Jackson (Mezzo-soprano)
Second secretary to Mao ..... Teresa S. Herold (Contralto)
Third secretary to Mao ..... Tamara Mumford (Contralto)

John Adams ..... Conductor
Chorus and Orchestra of Metropolitan Opera."

[nersner]

I went down to London to see this at ENO and I enjoyed it so much I'll be watching it live at Cineworld Hull. I liked this opera before I realised how much I liked classical music at all.

[Flosshilde]

I'm going to miss this unfortunately, unless it's on iPlayer. I think it's quite incredible that this is the first perfromances of it at the Met, and that they are using the ENO production from 1985!

[BBMmk2]

Saturday evening, always very inconvenient! So much so, I nearly always forget about tThe Met programme! Also, IO then forget to uise the iplayer facilkity!

[Bryn]

Saturday evening, always very inconvenient! So much so, I nearly always forget about tThe Met programme! Also, IO then forget to uise the iplayer facilkity!

The on demand facility of the iPlayer does not usually carry NY Met recordings, hence the lack of Thursday's Pelléas et Mélisande. I intend to schedule a Pure Bug to save the DAB version of the Adams broadcast to SD card, and also hope that the HD Sound facility keeps going for the duration here (via Virgin Media's supposed 20M broadband, which all too often manages to lose it).

[bluestateprommer]

Just a thread bump 1 hour before Nixon in China is set to get under way from the Metropolitan Opera in NYC. Some light reading for those interested:

(a) NYT review from Anthony Tommasini: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/04/ar...c/04nixon.html

(b) WaPo review from Anne Midgette: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...020306490.html

(c) New Jersey Star-Ledger review from Ronni Reich: http://www.nj.com/entertainment/musi...ics_and_p.html

Some sidebar articles from the NYT:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/arts/music/30nixon.html?pagewanted=all

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/26/dining/26nixon.html

Will be interesting to read the comments several hours from now from you gals and guys. See ya in a few .

[Bryn]

Maddalena should have stepped down and let someone who could still manage to sing the role take over.

[Ravensbourne]

The on demand facility of the iPlayer does not usually carry NY Met recordings, hence the lack of Thursday's Pelléas et Mélisande.

Agreed. This one is available though. I wonder if it's an oversight.

[hmvman]

Went to see the live cinecast at my local cinema and really enjoyed the performance and production. I thought Kathleen Kim's performance as Chiang Ch'ing at the end of act II was breathtakingly stunning.

We (the cinema audience) were amused when, just before the start of act II, Thomas Hampson interviewed John Adams and they had a hand-held microphone each. During the interview Adams got his call to go to the pit so Hampson abruptly terminated the interview and turned to camera. Adams tried to give his mic to Hampson who ignored him, then he tried to give it to someone behind the camera who similarly ignored it so Maestro Adams was seen wandering off still clutching his mic!

[Bryn]

Thanks for the alert, Ravensbourne. HiDownload Platinum Edition currently doing what it does best.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Looking forward to hearing this broadcast, safely on the hard drive of the DVD recorder (using the screensaver, which is an option on Freesat, but not on Freeview).

[DracoM]

Totally agree with Bryn about the voice - after all, we are assuming that Nixon is not supposed to sound like that, is he? What was Maddalena thinking of? Hubris? Pay cheque? But OTOH, how many international jet set Nixons / Adams are there to choose from to fly in at a moment's notice?

My feeling is having toiled through what felt like several hours of it that you 'needed to be there' i.e. sets etc.

Not unpleasant, not un remarkable, just.....well, not terribly memorable.

[Bryn]

Surely there is always an understudy waiting in the wings in such prestige productions? I thought Robert Orth did a fine job in the role in the Opera Colorado/Marin Alsop performaces, as recorded for Naxos in June 2008.

[RobertLeDiable]

I saw it in my local cinema too. Maddalena has been singing the role for about 24 years, and it sounds as if his voice is shot (unless he had a cold, and we weren't warned that he had). Projecting that role against the power of the orchestral writing, especially in a huge house like the Met, must be exhausting and can't be conducive to keeping the voice in good shape. But it wasn't too serious a problem given that Maddalena personifies Nixon so well. It even gave his character a greater sense of vulnerability in a way. Janice Watson was superb as Pat Nixon - what a fine actress she is. Kathleen Kim was exremely scary as Chiang Ching. All the cast were excellent, though the Mao looks wrong. It needs a real fat man, not a thinnish guy in a fat suit. And of the course the Met orchestra were, as ever, stunningly good. The Sellars production has evolved through its various revivals in different houses, but it still works well. It's a real modern masterpiece. Wonderful opera.

[RobertLeDiable]

Sorry - it was of course Janice Kelly, not Janice Watson, singing Pat Nixon.