The English conductor of the Royal Opera of Denmark, John Fulljames, conducts the Teatro Real première of the opera in three acts by  John Adams and Alice Goodman on 17, 21, 24, 26, 28 and 30 April and 2 May, in which the 1972 visit to China by the American President, Richard Nixon, is recreated.

It includes musical arrangements by Ivor Bolton, who was also from Britain, and the participation of the Teatro Real Resident Orchestra and Choir. This is the first opera based on a media event and it premiered at the Grand Opera in Houston (United States) in 1987.  Nixon was the first American President to visit China, which helped to lift the hostilities between both powers and alter the international political balance in Asia during the Cold War.

Furthermore, the piece is inspired  by the Maoist ballet, “Red Detachment of Women”, and has made use of extensive iconography from the Richard Nixon Foundation and the Richard Nixon Museum.

Through this historic event, the production tells how Nixon arrived in Peking (China), accompanied by the First Lady, Pat Nixon, and his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger.  He was welcomed by the Chinese Prime Minister, Zhou Enlai, and later met the President, Mao Zedong. The culture shock between East and West, the loneliness of power and its authoritarian repercussions are all reflected.

Artistic File:

• Musical Conductor - Ivor Bolton
• Stage Director - John Fulljames
• Stage and Costume Designer - Dick Bird
• Lighting - Ellen Ruge
• Choreographer - John Ross
• Sound Designer - Cameron Crosby
• Video - Will Duke
• Choirmaster - Andrés Máspero

Cast:

• Chou En-Lai - Jacques Imbrailo
• Richard Nixon - Leigh Melrose
• Henry Kissinger - Borja Quiza
• Nancy T`ang (Mao’s first secretary) - Sandra Ferrández
• Second secretary - Gemma Coma-Alabert
• Third secretary - Ekaterina Antípova
• Mao Tse-Tung - Alfred Kim
• Pat Nixon - Sarah Tynan
• Chiang Ch’ing  (Madame Tse-Tung) - Audrey Luna
• Choir and Orchestra - Teatro Real Resident Choir and Orchestra

Programme:

Opera in Three Acts

• Music by John Adams (1947)
• Libretto by Alice Goodman
• Premièred at the Grand Opera in Houston on 22 October 1987
• Première at the Teatro Real
• New production by the Teatro Real, in co-production with the Den Kongelige Opera of Copenhagen and the Scottish Opera