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Nixon in China
Mar. 13th, 2004 11:25 amLast night epilimnion and I went to see the Boston Modern Orchestra Project production of Nixon in China, an opera by John Adams. It's about Nixon's 1972 visit to China. I suppose that a political/historical event is a rather unusual topic for an opera, particularly when that event is recent enough that some of the audience could be expected to remember it. Especially so since the major characters are all familiar public figures. And at the the time the opera premiered in 1988, more than half of the prinicpal characters were alive and well. None of them attended, though.
I was a little skeptical about this work I admit. I wasn't sure whether the subject matter would work, and I didn't know if I would like the music. I like some of Adams' work very much, but there are also pieces of his which I hate.
The opera itself is surprisingly good. Before last night's performance, I had only heard some short excerpts in a couple of my music classes at Wesleyan. Nixon in China is in a classic minimalist style. In fact, it does sound a lot like Glass' work. However, I think that Adams has a much better sense of rhythmic texture and development, which gave the music more variety than I would expect from Glass. The first and second acts both end with brilliant crowd scenes involving the whole cast and chorus. The first act's finale is a banquet scene. Chou En-Lai's and Nixon's toasts are delivered as arias, both of which were really good. The chorus joins them, singing "Cheers" in an increasingly tipsy manner. The second act concludes with what I think was the best part of the opera. Mao Tse-Tung's wife puts on a revolutionary-themed performance for the Nixons. Both Pat Nixon and Mao's wife end up interfering in the performance and the scene concludes with Mao's wife and the chorus singing about Mao's principles and the Little Red Book. In the production, the chorus sang from behind Mao masks, which was both humorous and I think metaphorical.
In fact, the whole production was very good. The casting and costuming were very convincing, although that could have been because we were sitting in the very last row of the balcony. The sets consisted mostly of simple furniture and hangings of silk, but was nevertheless evocative of the different scenes. And, of course, BMOP and the singers turned out a terrific performance.
Now on to hca's Chyckfest. Tea and Jane Austen galore!
I was a little skeptical about this work I admit. I wasn't sure whether the subject matter would work, and I didn't know if I would like the music. I like some of Adams' work very much, but there are also pieces of his which I hate.
The opera itself is surprisingly good. Before last night's performance, I had only heard some short excerpts in a couple of my music classes at Wesleyan. Nixon in China is in a classic minimalist style. In fact, it does sound a lot like Glass' work. However, I think that Adams has a much better sense of rhythmic texture and development, which gave the music more variety than I would expect from Glass. The first and second acts both end with brilliant crowd scenes involving the whole cast and chorus. The first act's finale is a banquet scene. Chou En-Lai's and Nixon's toasts are delivered as arias, both of which were really good. The chorus joins them, singing "Cheers" in an increasingly tipsy manner. The second act concludes with what I think was the best part of the opera. Mao Tse-Tung's wife puts on a revolutionary-themed performance for the Nixons. Both Pat Nixon and Mao's wife end up interfering in the performance and the scene concludes with Mao's wife and the chorus singing about Mao's principles and the Little Red Book. In the production, the chorus sang from behind Mao masks, which was both humorous and I think metaphorical.
In fact, the whole production was very good. The casting and costuming were very convincing, although that could have been because we were sitting in the very last row of the balcony. The sets consisted mostly of simple furniture and hangings of silk, but was nevertheless evocative of the different scenes. And, of course, BMOP and the singers turned out a terrific performance.
Now on to hca's Chyckfest. Tea and Jane Austen galore!
