Performance Spotlight: 'Nixon In China' At Metropolitan Opera (VIDEOS)

Performance Spotlight: 'Nixon In China' At Metropolitan Opera

WHO: John Adams, composer/conductor; Peter Sellars, director; Kathleen Kim as Madame Mao; Janis Kelly as Pat Nixon; Robert Brubaker as Chairman Mao; James Maddalena as Richard Nixon; Richard Paul Fink as Henry Kissinger

WHAT: 'Nixon In China'

WHEN: February 3 - 19, 2011
The Met: Live in HD broadcast Saturday, February 12 at 1:00 PM EST

WHERE: The Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, NYC

WHY: The hilarity and tragedy of most operas have widespread longevity when it comes to staying relevant through the ages. Jealous spouses, manipulative family members, and the like are all common characters in operas from Puccini to Donizetti. John Adams' opera 'Nixon In China' strikes a different chord of familiarity, though, that is oft forgotten on operatic stages -- politics. Nixon's historic visit to Communist China transforms from real life drama to stage-worthy opera.

Nixon in China, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Adams's ground-breaking 1987 opera, has finally arrived at the Metropolitan Opera for its house debut with the composer himself conducting, in a production by acclaimed original director Peter Sellars that The New York Times is calling "musically exhilarating and theatrically dazzling."

Nixon In China/ Met Opera

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