Met Premiere of John Adams' Nixon in China Opens 2/2
By: Gabrielle Sierra Jan. 10, 2011
The Metropolitan Opera will present its first-ever performances of John Adams' Nixon in China beginning February 2, with the composer conducting his own score. The Met's new production, staged by internationally acclaimed director Peter Sellars, will star James Maddalena as Richard Nixon, a role he created at the opera's world premiere in 1987 and has performed at leading opera houses around the world. Nixon in China will also feature Janis Kelly as Pat Nixon, Kathleen Kim as Chiang Ch'ing, Robert Brubaker as Mao Tse-tung, Russell Braun as Chou En-lai, and Richard Paul Fink as Henry Kissinger.
Adams, who has conducted his works with many major orchestras, will make his Met debut as conductor; his opera Doctor Atomic had its Met premiere in a well-reviewed 2008 production. Maddalena has sung Nixon on many of the world's leading stages, including the English National Opera, Netherlands Opera, the Brooklyn Academy Of Music, Washington Opera, and the Théâtre du Châtelet. Kelly, who also starred in the recent English National Opera revival of the opera, is making her Met debut as Pat Nixon. Met star Kathleen Kim, who won critical plaudits for her Zerbinetta and Olympia in recent seasons, will take on the challenging coloratura role of Chiang Ch'ing, the forbidding and formidable wife of Mao Tse-tung. Brubaker has sung in many 20th-century works at the Met, including Moses und Aron, The Makropoulos Case, Peter Grimes, and the Met premiere of Busoni's Doktor Faust. Braun is best-known to Met audiences for his Figaro in IL Barbiere di Siviglia, which he sang in 2000, 2003 and 2007. Fink, who also sings Alberich in Robert Lepage's new production of Das Rheingold this March, sang principal roles in the Met premieres of Adams' Doctor Atomic and John Harbison's The Great Gatsby.
The opera's libretto is by American poet Alice Goodman, who also collaborated with Adams and Sellars on the opera The Death of Klinghoffer. The Met's production will feature the work of the world premiere production's design team, including set designer Adrianne Lobel, costume designer Dunya Ramicova, lighting designer James F. Ingalls, and choreographer Mark Morris.
On Tuesday, January 11 at 6:30 p.m., Sellars will join Orville Schell, the director of the Asia Society's Center on US-China Relations, for a discussion on the complex and evolving relationship between the United States and China, and what role culture plays in the ongoing conversation between the two nations. The discussion will take place at the Asia Society (725 Park Avenue); more information and tickets ($10-$15) are available at www.asiasociety.org.
The Met will partner with WQXR for a special Nixon in China preview event on January 19 at 7 p.m. The event, which will be broadcast live from The Green Space, New York Public Radio's broadcast studio and performance venue, will include a discussion with Adams and Sellars about the opera and live performances by cast members James Maddalena, Kathleen Kim, and Russell Braun. WQXR host Terrance McKnight moderates the evening, which will be performed before an in-studio audience, broadcast on 105.9 FM, and webcast live. More information and $10 tickets are available at www.wnyc.org/thegreenespace.
Nixon in China will be experienced by millions of people around the world this season in movie theaters, on the radio, and on the internet, through distribution platforms the Met has established with various media partners.
The February 12 matinee will be transmitted to more than 1,500 movie theaters in more than 40 countries globally as part of The Met: Live in HD series.
The February 2 opening performance will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS channel 78 and XM channel 79, as will the February 9 and 12 performances.
The February 2 performance will also be available via internet streaming at the Met's web site www.metopera.org. The February 12 matinee will be broadcast live over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.
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