Besides the landing on the moon by the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, Richard Nixon’s meeting with China’s leader Mao Zedong in February 1972 then represented one of the biggest media spectacles in history. Nixon himself established the reference between the two events: “We came in peace for all mankind” not only marked the lunar module Eagle’s landing spot – Nixon also spoke of it into the microphones just before his departure to China. It was not John Adam’s aim to create a superficial or even a caricaturing representation of Nixon’s visit when composing his opera. He attempted to create a “heroic opera” about the construction of modern myths by using archetypical characters and situations. Director Marco Štorman stages Adams’ minimal music opera as a deconstruction review about the power of images, the politics of staging and the staging of politics.
Michael Mayes
as Richard Nixon
Matthias Klink
as Mao Tse-tung
Katherine Manley
as Pat Nixon
Gan-ya Ben-gur Akselrod
as Chiang Ch’ing
Shigeo Ishino
as Henry Kissinger
Jarett Ott
as Chou En-lai
Ida Ränzlöv
as First Secretary to Mao
Fiorella Hincapié
as Second Secretary to Mao
Luise von Garnier
as Third Secretary to Mao
