Nixon In China

Opera is something I’ve always wanted to take more of an interest in, really. As someone who works in the Performing Arts for a living, it seemed odd to me to limit my theatrical experiences to straight theatre, or comedy, or at a pinch musical theatre. So I went into the recent screening of the Met Opera’s production of Nixon in China, streamed via a HD signal to the Dendy Cinema in Portside, with a fairly open attitude towards what I would be seeing. I knew I would be hearing operatic singing, but outside of that, I was unsure of what conventions of theatre would be met, which ones would be chucked out, and which ones would be wholly new to me. I was pleased I chose this one as my first opera experience, as it was a great production, and given I am a political tragic, the content itself was of great interest to me. Nixon in China was a win-win for me.

Originally premiering in 1987, Composer John Adams produced a contemporary opera looking at the 1972 visit by President Richard Nixon to China, the first official US visit to China, which is argued by many to have been one of the waterstone moments in 20th Century politics. The opera charts the visit, from the touchdown of Air Force One through to their eventual departure from China. All of the major elements from the real-life visit are covered by the opera, including Patty Nixon’s tour around the city whilst meeting workers. It’s an effective narrative, and weaves an interesting tale, but I have to be honest and say that I am unsure of the appeal of the production outside of anyone really interested in either history, or politics, or both. It might have been more culturally relevant when first produced, but in 2011 it feels more like fiction than fact.

Of course, the strength of any operatic production comes from the actors (or is that singers?) employed to give the production voice. In the Met Opera’s production of Nixon in China, we see some brilliant choices made in the casting. James Maddelena, who portrayed Nixon in the original 1987 production, returns for the 2011 Met Opera performance, and it’s clear to see why he was chosen originally, and once more now. He has an extremely powerful voice, and even manages to physically resemble Nixon from certain angles. He worked alongside Janis Kelly as Patty Nixon, who gave a very moving performance, particularly towards the end of Act Two, as the emotion of the scene involving a misunderstanding about a servant girl being whipped took place. The rest of the cast similarly did a wonderful job, particularly in the area of making the highly repetitive operatic “dialogue” feel natural and never forced. Even when some characters have repeated the same line several times, which I assume from my limited exposure to opera is a common element, it never once felt out of place. So kudos to the cast for a job well done.

The production design and staging of the opera was quite interesting, and while the sets were lavish and detailed, the blocking of the piece was really quite minimal, and was something that really appealed to me. The power of this piece was in the voices and the words being spoken, and while this was framed by some gorgeous sets that very clearly evoked the original locations from 1972, by keeping the movement and staging itself quite simple and basic, the message of the piece was never lost on the audience. As a Director myself, that is an approach that appeals to me, so in a way it was nice to see my own personal belief in how to direct large-scale theatrical productions being validated by such a high-end and classical piece of work as Nixon in China.

Overall, I would have to say that I was pleased I took the punt on Nixon in China - my first opera is very definitely a success. Not an artform I am used to experiencing, but based on the solid efforts I saw here, I am keen to go back for more. As an artistic representation of a real historical event, Nixon in China ticks all of the right boxes, and stays true to the source material. That it can take such an event, keep the reality strong, but make the overall experience so entertaining, is a testament to Composer John Adams and Director Peter Sellars work here. Not sure if this is still viewable, but if you can track down a performance, I would suggest you do. You won’t regret it.