When Nixon in China had its premiere in 1987, almost all of the principals could have attended- except Mao who was dead and his wife who was in prison. This is recent-history opera at its best. Recent history can be treacherous ground for opera- the lamentable Jackie O of 1997 about Jackie Onassis by Michael Daugherty being a prime example of how it can all go horribly, horribly wrong.

John Adams' worked with an Alice Goodman libretto (almost entirely in rhyming couplets) and a Peter Sellars concept. From the beginning, all three were insistent that this were to be a heroic opera without the hindsight they had about what happened to Nixon in the end. George Martin describes it as "Joan of Arc without the stake".

Where Adams excels, and undoubtedly one of the primary reasons for the opera's continual success, is that he takes the accessibility and popularity of minimalism but adds an exciting sense of drama more common to bombastic rock, and, yes, Verdi than 20th Century opera.

The opera is in traditional three Act form, but each act is of decreasing length, with Act I have three scenes, Act II having two scenes and Act III just the single scene.

Act I. Scene 1 begins after a beautiful prelude of 2 minutes of rising natural A minor scales played on the violins with other instruments playing the same scale at different speeds, whilst sonorous trombones pound out octaves sporadically. The Chinese sing of their life in terms of catchy slogans Soldiers of heaven catch the sky. With much fanfare, the Nixons' jet lands onstage and they are welcomed by the Chinese Premier, Chou en Lai. Nixon gets the first aria- and in opera tradition it is a heroic entrance aria- nervously and excitedly exclaiming his hopes for the trip and the very real fear of failure- all in relation to the new concept of instantaneous news reporting in the dynamic News news news news aria.

In Scene 2 Nixon and Kissinger meet Chairman Mao accompanied by Chou. Three Secretaries sit behind Mao and squawk imitation of almost everything he says- recording for prosperity. This is perhaps the most unflattering scene for the Americans- Kissinger and Nixon are quickly out-foxed by quick witted Mao who speaks in riddles and obscure philosophy. This is one of the more criticised scenes in the opera- Goodman's libretto is full of conversational twist and turns and Adams' bombastic orchestration regularly obscures them despite Mao in particular being exceptionally strident in the higher phrases.

Scene 3 is the huge banquet in which Chou and Nixon offer eloquent speeches of hope and optimisim for Chinese-American relations. The revellers toast and cheer and the Act closes with the wonderfully monstrous Cheers Cheers Cheers chorus with the Chorus toasting merrily and the principals bubbling along. Again, the Chinese outsmart the Americans (though considerably more discreetly) with Pat Nixon making a reference to "have you forgotten Washington?" and Chou is the first to pick up that it is Washington's birthday and leads a toast to celebrate it.

Act II opens with the only scene in which Nixon isn't present, as Pat tours China accompanied by the Three Secretaries. Adams and Goodman portray her as simple, certainly, but with an emotional warmth and essential kind-heartedness that the others don't have. She has her big, seven minute aria This is prophetic in which she admits her humble beginnings and her not-so-humble hopes for the future. She carefully enunciates Bless This Union in which you are not sure whether she is affirming the Union of the United States, which she is currently representing, or her more personal marital union with her husband. The Statue of Liberty and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier blind metaphorically with wedding symbols like a veil.

The second scene of Act II is Madame Mao's first appearance with her ballet- the Red Detachment of Women. On a recording, this ballet is overwhelmed with symbolism that you just can't pick up aurally and can seem infuriatingly abstract as the audience (that is the Nixons) seem to get sucked into the story. It isn't helped than Lan Szu, the evil tyrant, is played by Kissinger. There are some great tunes in here though- particularly the women's march Flesh rebels which is a perfect parody of Communist work songs. This Act closes with Madame Mao's wonderfully tyrannical aria I live according to the book in which she flys up to top Ds over minions chanting the book! the book! the book! and ends in an orgy of revolutionary excitement.

Act III has only once scene, a tableau of the different principals in some kind of sleep-dreamscape in which they interact with each other but not in reality. The semantics don't matter. But it is some of Adams' most beautiful slow music, despite his explicit instructions that the characters are not flattered- the score dictates that Pat looks "fragile and heavily powdered", Nixon is tired, Chou looks old and Madame Mao is "not as tall as they remember her". Only Mao is still full of youth and the promise of revolution. Through a series of ensembles, duets and arias we catch a deep pscyhological glimpse into these characters. Again, Kissinger is portrayed as the buffoon with a memorable exit on the line "where's the toilet?" whilst scratching himself. Chou closes the opera with perhaps the most beautiful aria in the opera, reaffirming that "revolution is a boys' game".

This recording strongly benefits from being recorded only a few weeks after the world premiere with the same cast, orchestra and conductor. James Maddalena as Nixon is superb, heroic but flawed with handsome lyricism in his voice. Carolann Page as his wife has a beautifully light voice, simple and fragile as befits the character. Sanford Sylvan as Chou is equally brilliant. Thomas Hammons' resonant bass is perfect for Kissinger whilst the exceptionally high part of Mao is sung with confidence and eloquence by John Duykers. There is a lot of criticism for Trudy Ellen Craney as Madame Mao, but personally I like it. The part is written to be hard and brittle- and her domineering coloratura soprano is great.

Edo de Waart conducts the typically accomplished Orchestra of St Luke's. There are some balance issues, particularly in I.2 as earlier mentioned, but asides from these little problems it's fine and perfectly suitable- fluid when it has to be (a New York Times critic once said that Adams had done for the arpeggio what McDonalds did for the hamburger), but spiky and arrogant in the more driving passages.

The 3-CD pack released by Nonesuch is worth the expense- it comes with a thick booklet with the complete libretto, B&W photographs and fascinating background information from Adams, Goodman and Sellars.

Nixon in China is one of the best introductions to opera of the last twenty years and for any serious classical music collector is an absolutely essential disk.


Recommended: Yes