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Nixon in China

John Adams

Opéra Bastille

from 25 March to 16 April 2023

3h10 with 1 interval

Nixon in China

Opéra Bastille - from 25 March to 16 April 2023

Synopsis

In February 1972, the American president Richard Nixon went to China to meet Mao Zedong. In the context of the war in Vietnam and the cold war, this encounter marked a turning point in Chinese‑ American relations. John Adams, a major musical figure of the last forty years, made this event of contemporary history the subject of his first opera. Nixon in China tackles the political thaw instigated by ping-pong diplomacy, begun by the invitation of the American table tennis players by their Chinese counterparts, one year before the presidential visit. A mesmerising work in which the pulsations and repetitions typical of minimalism are combined with melodic lines of great lyricism. For its entry into the Paris Opera repertoire, this work has been entrusted to the director Valentina Carrasco, who underlines the importance and the mediating power of Chinese national sport in history.

Duration : 3h10 with 1 interval

Language : English

Surtitle : French / English

  • Opening

  • First part 65 min

  • Intermission 30 min

  • Second part 95 min

  • End

Show acts and characters

Characters

Richard Nixon: President of the United States
Mao Tse-tung: Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party
Pat Nixon: First Lady of the United States
Chiang Ch’ing: Mao’s wife
Henry Kissinger: US National Security Advisor
Chou En-lai: Chinese Prime Minister  

Act 1: Scene one – The airport outside Peking
It is a cold, clear, dry morning: Monday, February 21, 1972. Contingents of army, navy and air force circle the field and sing “The Three Main Rules of Discipline” and “The Eight Points of Attention.” Premier Chou En-lai, accompanied by a small group of officials, strolls onto the runway just as The Spirit of ‘76 taxis into view. President Nixon disembarks. They shakehands and the President sings of his excitement and his fears.

Scene two – Chairman Mao’s study
An hour later he is meeting with Chairman Mao. Mao’s conversational armory contains philosophical apothegms, unexpected political observations and gnomic jokes, and everything he sings is amplified by his secretaries and the Premier. It is not easy for a Westerner to hold his own in such a dialogue.

Scene three – The Great Hall of the People
After the audience with Mao, everyone at the first evening’s banquet is euphoric. The President and Mrs. Nixon manage to exchange a few words before Premier Chou rises to make the first of the evening’s toasts, a tribute to patriotic fraternity. The President replies, toasting the Chinese people and the hope of peace. The toasts continue, with less formality, as the night goes on.

Act 2:
Scene one – Mrs. Nixon views China
Snow has fallen during the night. In the morning Mrs. Nixon is ushered onstage by her party of guides and journalists. She explains a little of what it feels like for a woman like her to be First Lady and accepts a glass elephant from the workers at the Peking Glass Factory. She visits the Evergreen People’s Commune and the Summer Palace, where she pauses in the Gate of Longevity and Goodwill to sing, “This is prophetic!” Then, on to the Ming Tombs before sunset.

Scene two – An evening at the Peking
Opera In the evening, the Nixons attend a performance of The Red Detachment of Women, a revolutionary ballet devised by Mao’s wife, Chiang Ch’ing. The ballet entwines ideological rectitude with Hollywood-style emotion. The Nixons respond to the latter; they are drawn to the downtrodden peasant girl – in fact, they are drawn into the action on the side of simple virtue. This was not precisely what Chiang Ch’ing had in mind. She sings “I am the wife of Mao Tse-tung,” ending with full choral backing.

Act 3:
The last evening in Peking. The pomp and public displays of the presidential visit are over, and the main players all return to the solitude of their bedrooms. The talk turns to memories of the past. Mao and his wife dance, and the Nixons recall the early days of their marriage during the Second World War, when he was stationed as a naval commander in the Pacific. Chou En-lai concludes the opera with the questionof whether anything they did was good.

Artists

Opera in three acts (1987)

Creative team

Cast

Orchestre et Chœurs de l’Opéra national de Paris

Nixon in China fait l’objet d’une captation, réalisée par François-René Martin, coproduite par l’Opéra national de Paris et Camera Lucida, avec la participation de Mezzo et Medici.tv, le soutien du CNC et de la Fondation Orange, mécène des retransmissions audiovisuelles de l’Opéra national de Paris. Il est retransmis en direct le 7 avril 2023 sur la plateforme de l’Opéra national de Paris et en différé sur Mezzo et Medici.tv à compter du 14 avril 2023. Ce concert est proposé en son immersif.

Nixon in China sera diffusé le samedi 29 avril 2023 sur France Musique à 20h dans l’émission «  Samedi à l’Opéra  », présentée par Judith Chaine.

Media

[TRAILER] NIXON IN CHINA de John Adams
[TRAILER] NIXON IN CHINA de John Adams
  • Nixon's true trip to China

    Nixon's true trip to China

    Watch the video

  • A presidential couple at the Opera

    A presidential couple at the Opera

    Watch the video

  • Adams in Paris

    Adams in Paris

    Watch the video

  • A modern mythology

    A modern mythology

    Watch the video

  • Podcast Nixon in China

    Podcast Nixon in China

    Listen the podcast

Nixon's true trip to China

Watch the video

Behind the scenes of the story

7:52 min

Nixon's true trip to China

By Camera Lucida

John Adams' opera, Nixon in China, is based on a genuine historical fact: the trip taken by US President Richard Nixon and his wife to Mao Zedong's communist China in February 1972, during the Cold War. What were the aims and the outcome? This documentary deciphers the story in just 8 minutes, using archive footage.

A presidential couple at the Opera

Watch the video

Interview with Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson

6:59 min

A presidential couple at the Opera

By Isabelle Stibbe

As Nixon in China enters the repertoire, Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson, both playing Richard and Pat Nixon for the first time, talk about their roles, the challenges and the importance of John Adams' score.  

Adams in Paris

Watch the video

Interview with John Adams

4:41 min

Adams in Paris

By Isabelle Stibbe

Present for the premiere of Nixon in China at the Opéra Bastille, the composer John Adams granted us an exclusive interview a few minutes before the performance. An opportunity to discuss the relevance of his opera in the current international context as well as the two main performers, Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.

© Elena Bauer / OnP

A modern mythology

Watch the video

Interview with Valentina Carrasco and Alexander Neef

8:50 min

A modern mythology

By Isabelle Stibbe

Why has John Adams' score become a classic? How can it be staged today? The Paris Opera's General Director and the director of Nixon in China discuss the entry of this major score into the repertoire and the artistic choices of the new production presented at the Opéra Bastille.  

© Everett Collection/Bridgeman Images

Podcast Nixon in China

Listen the podcast

"Dance! Sing! 7 minutes at the Paris Opera" - by France Musique

Podcast Nixon in China

By Charlotte Landru-Chandès

"Dance! Sing! 7 minutes at the Paris Opera" offers original incursions into the season thanks to broadcasts produced by France Musique and the Paris Opera.

For each opera or ballet production, Charlotte Landru-Chandès (opera) and Jean-Baptiste Urbain (dance), present the works and artists you are going to discover when you attend performances in our theatres.

  • [EXTRAIT] NIXON IN CHINA de John Adams (Renée Fleming)
  • [EXTRAIT] NIXON IN CHINA de John Adams (Renée Fleming)
  • [EXTRAIT] NIXON IN CHINA de John Adams (Yajie Zhang, Ning Liang, Emanuela Pascu)
  • [EXTRAIT] NIXON IN CHINA de John Adams (Kathleen Kim)
  • Nixon in China (saison 22/23) - Acte 1 - Thomas Hampson (Nixon)

  • Nixon in China (saison 22/23) - Acte 1 (Orchestre)

  • Nixon in China (saison 22/23) - Acte 2 - Yajie Zhang, Ning Liang, Emanuela Pascu

  • Nixon in China (saison 22/23) - Acte 2

  • Nixon in China (saison 22/23) - Acte 2 - Xiaomeng Zhang (Zhou Enlai), Chœur - Gambei

  • Nixon in China (saison 22/23) - Acte 1 - (John Matthew Myers)

  • Nixon in China (saison 22/23) - Acte 2 (Orchestre)

  • Nixon in China (saison 22/23) - Acte 2 - Renée Fleming

  • Nixon in China (saison 22/23) - Acte3 - Xiaomeng Zhang (Zhou Enlai)

  • Nixon in China (saison 22/23) - Acte 3 - Kathleen Kim (Chiang Ch'ing)

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[REPLAY] Nixon in China

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Place de la Bastille

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Underground Bastille (lignes 1, 5 et 8), Gare de Lyon (RER)

Bus 29, 69, 76, 86, 87, 91, N01, N02, N11, N16

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  • Cloakrooms

    Free cloakrooms are at your disposal. The comprehensive list of prohibited items is available here.

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    Reservation of drinks and light refreshments for the intervals is possible online up to 24 hours prior to your visit, or at the bars before each performance.

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    A selection of works items are available on our various boutiques: Online store and The Opéra Bastille Shop.

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  • Last-minute tickets

    Special reduced rates for people under the age of 28, unemployed and seniors over 65 are available. 

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    You can park your car at the Q-Park Opéra Bastille. It is located at 34 rue de Lyon, 75012 Paris. 

    BOOK YOUR PARKING PLACE.

In both our venues, discounted tickets are sold at the box offices from 30 minutes before the show:

  • €35 tickets for under-28s, unemployed people (with documentary proof less than 3 months old) and senior citizens over 65 with non-taxable income (proof of tax exemption for the current year required)
  • €70 tickets for senior citizens over 65

Get samples of the operas and ballets at the Paris Opera gift shops: programmes, books, recordings, and also stationery, jewellery, shirts, homeware and honey from Paris Opera.

Opéra Bastille
  • Open 1h before performances and until performances end
  • Get in from within the theatre’s public areas
  • For more information: +33 1 40 01 17 82

Opéra Bastille

Place de la Bastille

75012 Paris

Public transport

Underground Bastille (lignes 1, 5 et 8), Gare de Lyon (RER)

Bus 29, 69, 76, 86, 87, 91, N01, N02, N11, N16

Calculate my route
Car park

Q-Park Opéra Bastille 34, rue de Lyon 75012 Paris

Book your parking spot
  • Cloakrooms

    Free cloakrooms are at your disposal. The comprehensive list of prohibited items is available here.

  • Bars

    Reservation of drinks and light refreshments for the intervals is possible online up to 24 hours prior to your visit, or at the bars before each performance.

  • Boutiques

    A selection of works items are available on our various boutiques: Online store and The Opéra Bastille Shop.

    LEARN MORE.

  • Last-minute tickets

    Special reduced rates for people under the age of 28, unemployed and seniors over 65 are available. 

    LEARN MORE.

  • Parking

    You can park your car at the Q-Park Opéra Bastille. It is located at 34 rue de Lyon, 75012 Paris. 

    BOOK YOUR PARKING PLACE.

In both our venues, discounted tickets are sold at the box offices from 30 minutes before the show:

  • €35 tickets for under-28s, unemployed people (with documentary proof less than 3 months old) and senior citizens over 65 with non-taxable income (proof of tax exemption for the current year required)
  • €70 tickets for senior citizens over 65

Get samples of the operas and ballets at the Paris Opera gift shops: programmes, books, recordings, and also stationery, jewellery, shirts, homeware and honey from Paris Opera.

Opéra Bastille
  • Open 1h before performances and until performances end
  • Get in from within the theatre’s public areas
  • For more information: +33 1 40 01 17 82

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Nixon in China

Nixon in China: the true/false story

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