You shouldn’t despise Chiang.
Another myth to sell bonds. The rats begin to chew the sheets. Directed by Brian Large. Jesus, it grabbed you by the throat. and Dr. Kissinger make their entrance. You’d never think to look at him
then tools, then clothes,
(They write it down)
No, not De Gaulle. won today from vision to inheritance. Taken from the 2011 Live in HD production. people step forth
(Hung Chiang Ch'ing is filled with deep proletarian
MAO
room, then President Nixon, Premier Chou En-lai
to greet these exotic guests)
livid through drapes onto the lawn. If every scar
I am no one. cushion the kick:
looked drab and grey. the Premier sits next to the Chairman and Dr.
I shut my eyes and, listening
transmitting nothing like a word. Although Nixon in China was created for such an event there are indications that the work has not only broken the single production "rule", but it may even have opened up an entirely new avenue for opera.One of the issues that clearly separates Nixon in China from other operas is its exploration of an event from our own time. The coconut palms bow like grass. PAT
no airplanes, no loudspeakers, only the sound of the
NIXON
NIXON
A sound like mourning doves reaches my ears,
MAO
for good to China, one for whom
The nation’s heartland skips a beat
Waiters pour wine as the guards display their military
stands like a fortress against
Search | Hung Chiang
Everyone cheers as
A hundred years and ears may press hard
NIXON
I know America is good at heart.
(After the third course is finished, Premier Chou
The people’s faith? Think of that! let him be recognized at home. I think it’s sort of rude to watch. The corrugated metal roof
CHORUS 2
falls throughout the courses of the banquet)
Let us turn our talk towards Taiwan,
MAO
showed us the way.
NIXON
The rain seeped in under the door. the body of Ching-hua, the recumbent dancer. lai seems old and quite worn out.
The sweat had soaked my uniform,
on the task of distributing grain to the hungry peasants. background)
This title illuminates the opera and enhances listeners' and scholars' appreciation for this landmark work. I can’t talk very well. MAO
a nation, and have changed the world. Leave it to rot.
A penny for your thoughts. now. wall. down or face up. (It is the evening of the first day. Tyrant, factotum and
HUNG CHIANG CH’ING
I’ve heard enough. 2 CHORUS
The Prime Minister knows about that. now let me through! It is about four o’clock in the afternoon and the warm-
No. hot in the sun
I’m here to liaise
The children in the U.S.A. all say hello. Let me be
PAT
Hung presents her with a rifle and she joins her
**
being feted in the Great Hall of the People. CHOU
They can make hundreds every day. But since you do not know me,
we melt away into the underbrush;
While it is young in us it lives;
I doubt that spring has come. let the farmer switch on the light over the porch,
MAO
full of static electricity. **
CHORUS
MAO
we are awake,
Nothing I fear
NIXON
compel them to dance. CHOU
PAT
Those books of mine aren’t anything. PAT
Another elephant! ",
I move a vote of thanks to one
replace doors when you leave a house. pay to replace what you destroy. Chairman Mao is
PAT
the Hall of Dispelling the Clouds, and the Pavilion
How your most rigid theorist
Operas | and together they review the massed ranks of the
he stands like a stone wall
allows her anger to break the surface. He scratches the back of his neck, his nose,
As the soldiers wait, an airplane taxis and lands on the stage - the Nixons and Henry Kissinger disembark and are greeted by Chou Enlai. CHORUS
Chiang, Chang Kuo-tao and Li Li-san. tend to be fascist. Founders come first, then profiteers.
the warblers who prefer the dark,
Now you’re referring to Wang Ming,
on Lao Szu. the First Lady in her scarlet coat. Mrs. Nixon may be supposed to be
has ever harmed me, why should you? My business is philosophy. these walls would crack,
the man with his shoulder
Here where we stand, beyond the pale,
the body pulls
too kindly on all this. It’s just a play. hua)
the tyrant, and
I swapped spam for hamburger meat
** ... Army **
After a pause the door opens and
let her see what lies inland:
It’s simple barbarous! They
We will not sow their fields with salt,
running with juice
NIXON
Bayonet Dance)
are tables set for nine hundred. President Nixon stands in the opening for a instant,
I always knew. PAT
let the heart burst,
Flesh rebels
Your sacred heart
The Eastern Hemisphere beckoned to us,
NIXON
We must seize the hour and seize the day. The east is red;
And look! the flooded rib of a palm frond
(as Ching-hua)
him)
The Metâs hit podcast collaboration with WQXR returns March 10 with an episode on âNessun dorma,â featuring Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The land outside
Not the cross? a colorful Li Nationality Dance. Here friend, something for you. (as Lao Szu)
NIXON
This stuffs strong poison. each service – circle the field and begin to sing "The
Ahead
Ching-hua is beaten insensible. dance cheek to cheek. NIXON
Each moments stands out sharp and clear. of Attention")
she overlies us. They are
NIXON
do not mistreat the captive foe. to find the wrong
KISSINGER
men still grow fat
PAT
SECRETARIES
confident that the day would come
Peking watches the stars,
grove. little straighter, as do the President and Dr. Kissinger. Must find the path...
Jesus it’s wet.
MAO
Let days grow imperceptibly longer,
I have my brief. HUNG CHIANG CH’ING
Young as we
What did she call herself? I was meant to come here. posters have been torn off walls, market stalls are
KISSINGER
your eloquent remarks, Premier,
Our children race downhill unflustered into peace. I spoke generally. PAT
Never have I cared for trivialities. CHORUS 1
our duty is to show them both their future
he’s doing undercover work. Home | of all our youth, all nations’ youth;
Shh, shh. CHORUS
New friends and present company!
he’s read at Harvard. Go on! Thank heaven for that. I am most proud to welcome you. CHOU
Small lizards basked among the rocks,
That place was heaven next to this. MAO
... introduce...
I know. CHOU
CHORUS
On this in our communiqué. NIXON
That the music of Jiang Qing (Madame Mao) is more strident than that of Pat Nixon may reveal Adamsâs perceptions of each but also reflects how the two were portrayed by the press. Revenge is mine
Must the fruits of victory
the dog and grandma fall asleep,
Hung Chiang Ch'ing points to
There’s not much beneath our notice. strike the first blow
We must press on. where your heart is. the banqueters go from table to table toasting one
before another curtain rises onstage. An organized oblivion. and put it in my stocking drawer
He’s miles away. A girl secretary
I speak according to the book. NIXON
Well, the Pacific theater
whose wreaths are heavy round my neck
slow Musclebound, well-dressed, half-awake,
Some men you cannot satisfy. Through that door. He reaches
at last to harness the Yangtze. What a shame! Wait. A bankrupt people repossessed
Chungking’s old-fashioned armory lies undefended. just now, the world was listening. Vietnam and the problems there, Japan...
(She takes his hand and he climbs out of the portraits’
New : Save your favorite arias, videos and singers! will bide its time. girls enter, dressed mostly in flowers. Scene 2: Opera of Pekin
that death will be a novelty
There was a cross round one guy’s neck. Finally, from behind
them over branches, and the pick
We will touch
of them stuffed with long paper bookmark. Oh Dick! CHOU
Founders come first,
The sirens wail as bride
The crane...
(The people express their bitterness against
On our flight over from Shangai
of the next blow. into view, slowing to a stop, Premier Chou En-lai and
The American composer John Adams uses opera to dramatize controversial current events. The
NIXON
Are you one of us? Nixon in China is an opera in three acts by John Adams, with a libretto by Alice Goodman. In the evening
MAO
lies heavy on the morning grass. with harvest in the morning light
He never tells. Introductory recitatives and semi-arias (âariosoâ) might be added, soon termed âscenaâ (âsceneâ). Longevity, the Hall of Happiness in Longevity,
PAT
roused from a state of seeming rest
Another generation may turn up Confucius’
let lonely drivers on the road pull over for a bite to eat,
The guards
Adams' first opera, it was inspired by the 1972 visit to China by US President Richard Nixon. Your paradise
Mao Tse-tung is seated on one of several over-stuffed
Yenan rests like a wise virgin. let the clenched first
Soldiers of heaven hold the sky,
I put down my work and go to bed. I think what is to be will be in spite of us,
promise to change our rice to bread,
KISSINGER
nor have I heard placed better the music
Old leaves absorbed into the tree
CHOU
begins are ends
He is
Let us not be misled. PAT
Divide the landlord’s property,
where several centipedes had drowned,
Your health! U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to the People's Republic of China was an important strategic and diplomatic overture that marked the culmination of the Nixon administration's resumption of harmonious relations between the United States and mainland China after years of diplomatic isolation. How they inspire our poor dry bones,
take nothing from the tenantry,
and seize the day. MAO
To Chairman Mao! Lan P’ing? HUNG CHIANG CH’ING
CHOU
HUNG CHIANG CH’ING
HUNG CHIANG CH’ING
This should be better. Like statues covered in the dust of their creation. Down on all fours
PAT
On July 15, 1971, President Richard Nixon made a shocking announcement. of the Statue of Liberty change just a little,
Yes, every one. Has study given Chairman Mao
It may go to my head. Nixon in China, Metropolitan Opera HD Live Dark picture and sound blips can't obscure the mastery of John Adams's first opera. A ramp is drawn
I felt so weak with disappointment and relief
sounds distant, roughly like the sea. uproot the palms
"Six Crises" isn’t a bad book. Composers | And the far right? Doesn’t he look like you know who! How thin you are! to bask in an uncertain sun,
4. MAO
On that bench there we’ll relax
behind the Chairman)
Sorry we’re low on relish. NIXON
to the guards, who scramble on the ground and fight
a single spark sets them alight.
MAO
Our common old friend Chiang Kai-shek
over dead wood
we bring children our countries, right or wrong. MAO
I know. Nixon, Mrs. Nixon, who has changed her scarlet
one most heavily laden with chains, is Wu Ching-hua,
We’re even then. That luscious thigh
triumphant march, the early light
men’s glasses, sits between the President and Mrs.
**
NIXON
the newsmen, there the important Chinese. NIXON
up to the hatchway. milk oozing from their broken husks,
PAT
towards the Premier. CHORUS
scraped this eroded ground,
I like right-wingers:
and over the dead. another while the band plays old favourites. HUNG CHIANG CH’ING
You bet.
The sun is setting, the west is red, and the moon
The work premiered at the Houston Grand Opera on October 22, 1987, in a production by Peter Sellars with choreography by Mark Morris. PAT
PAT
the introductions are beginning, the President begins
uncompromising lines of thought
Chairman
holding in perpetuity the ground our people
You know we’ll meet with your confrere
NIXON
a grain of sand in heaven’s eye
In San Francisco Operaâs current production of John Adamsâ Nixon in China, as the doctrinaire Madame Mao closes her showpiece aria singing âI speak according to the book,â she stands, holding the Red Book aloft, atop a large pile of dead bodies, a devastating visual of the carnage wrought by the communist regime upon its own people. Now there’s ingratitude! PAT
this cell is red,
The Customer is King. He
News has a kind of mystery:
colored light which precedes sunset in the very early
Ching-hua enters, dancing. Who me? She has resisted to the
joyful and lightheaded, as if this were the evening of
who raised the weak above the strong. MAO
set small against great. You’ve said
It tells the story of then-president Richard Nixon's meetings with Mao Tse-Tung which resulted in the 'opening' of China to Western nations. Speak up! It was a scorcher. the full detachment of the Red Women’s Militia enters
Forgive my bluntness. We have only a few seconds to grasp these details
That was the time I should have died. like yours, like you I take my stand among poor people. PAT
I treat each day like Christmas. took those shifting paths,
KISSINGER
CHORUS
shorts. ACT TWO
PAT
A detachment of Chinese troops marches on to the stage and sings a 1930s Red Army song, The Three Main Rules of Discipline and Eight Points of Attention. CHOU
more of us bow
Listen to three (3) arias (Ctrl+Click): a. Pucciniâs âE Lucevan le stelleâ from Tosca b. Bizetâs âHabaneraâ from Carmen c. Adamâs âNews has a Kind of Mysteryâ from Nixon in China 2. The atmosphere is
once, it’s "Long live the Living!" HUNG CHIANG CH’ING
PAT
A number of serving
I dimly realized the Jap
PAT
No, no. Terms | The taste is in my mouth. She
naked and stunned’
CHOU
let Gypsy Rose kick off her high-heeled party shoes;
will mark the places of the wise? The seven-day official visit to three Chinese cities was the first time a U.S. president had visited the PRC; Nixon's â¦
Oh! The men were safe. Come down. My right hand man. reaches the middle of the ramp, Premier Chou begins
our name is mud. Your outstretched hand, the Russian’s wave,
from this appearance of détente? Now, Bougainville was a refuelling stop...
softened the Buddha’s well-known face
No one who heard could but admire
MAO
we put through. who know how to live. first act of kindness she has ever known. Excerpt from \u0016Chiang Ch'ing's Act II aria from John Adams's "Nixon in China."
Picture a thousand coconuts
of the ice-locked wall vanishes. She’s started shooting, Dick
Three contraltos from the chorus
To Doctor Kissinger! There’s murmuring bellow. Rise up in arms! ACT ONE
Tell me more. and we have flown east of the sun,
... the countryside
NIXON
a small dais supports a bank of microphones. CHOU
And so the conversation rises and
CHORUS 2
taxiing across the runway. your flesh and blood. We no longer need Confucius. (President Nixon and Premier Chou toast each other,
CHOU
The narrative that plays out over the course of Nixon in China is the story of Richard Nixonâs historic 1972 visit to (wait for it) China. NIXON
the Summer Palace and the Ming Tombs. When did the Chinese people last
Have you forgotten Washington? and branch and leaf and flower. is clearly visible. Five-card stud
its landscape offers up the ghost,
Can’t find the path...
we strike while they’re asleep,
It rounds like you remember them. NIXON
NIXON
Just fine. The Premier introduces the
beats in the chest;
CHOU
Ching-hua
... made history. Ah, who can say? We must broadcast seeds of goodwill. brandishes it, and kicks him to the ground. we can save it, it never saves. I never doubted you’d come back. may be gratified to hear
Christ he’s gone. NIXON
Professor Timothy Johnson, author of the book John Adamsâs Nixon in China, will explore the harmonic structures underlying that opera's three most memorable arias to illuminate Adams' compositional style and its role in characterizing the historical figures portrayed in the opera. (as Lao Szu)
(as Ching-hua)
when I shook hands with Chou En-lai
will help him land the Great White Hope. PAT
CHORUS 2
CHOU
and a light film of dust
and wary and eludes the dispersing troops)
and crucify us on a cross of usury. Intelligence is no bad thing. I have attended many feasts
whether the war was over yet
** HUNG CHIANG CH’ING
She has put on her mink hat
Leave them alone, you might get hurt. I squeezed your pay check till it screamed,
CHORUS 2
I’m lost. with all the others. I pull the wool over their...
Like the Ming Tombs. to sing, and, as he sings, the joy of anticipated
reluctantly followed her, holds her by the shoulders as
was not much to write home about. I have grown old and done no more work than a child. snapped the handshakes continue to photograph
my time had come. the heroine. feelings for this peasant’s daughter who has suffered so
I can’t catch every word in all this noise. NIXON
Dr. Kissinger is
Embarrassed, Lao Szu orders his
I’ve never felt so good. CHOU
they run. I’d like to make another tour as President. is gone. Dick. I know one statesman who thinks a fishing trip
new missionaries, businesslike,
PAT
shuffles back to his books)
comrades and friends, we have begun
Hosted by Rhiannon Giddens, the new season will include 18 episodes, with commentary from a parade of great artists. embraced till they ignite. Follow their lead. in open wounds
he said. I’d be glad to think that in the neighborhood of Peking
Good Lord! we best do her honor in this way. that led us to this mountain pass,
into the limousine for the ride to the Ming Tombs,
an unknown shore through shoals. But let us, in these next five days,
She
When he returns he sits a
All patriots were brothers once:
PAT
News Aria (NIXON IN CHINA)-John Adams Nick Shadow's Aria (THE RAKE'S PROGRESS)-Igor Stravinsky Prescription for Living (DR. HEIDEGGER'S FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH)-Jack Beeson Ralph's Letter-Ballad (THE SHOEMAKER'S HOLIDAY)-Dominick Argento Rucker's Sermon (COLD SASSY TREE)-Carlisle Floyd The President takes
NIXON
The symbol of our party, prize of our success,
Then I went out already it was meeting hot,
the bottom step and extends his right hand as he walks
"Hate Tyranny!" (Smiling and waving, Mrs. Nixon and her entourage
dry morning; Monday, February 21, 1972; the air is
CHORUS
with the backroom boys
that shoals of small transparent fish
Only Chairman Mao continues to lean back, his arms
She will get well. this thick-walled heart
human voice and the sound of footsteps on flagstones
KISSINGER
and groom kiss through the veil. Though they got two bowls of rice a day. Where is the bound,
MAO
It’s no good. Please, Mrs. Nixon, watch...
NIXON
Goodman's libretto was the result of considerable research into Nixon's visit, though she disregarded most sources published after 1972. that swelling breast
© Opera-Arias.com 2011-2019. As they advance
and heading for a single goal. Cast the net wide and draw it in. KISSINGER
John Adamsâ opera Nixon in China tells the story of Richard Nixonâs 1972 visit to the Peopleâs Republic of China, a politically transformative act that ended 25 years of silence between two major nations. (The sky looks ominous. PAT
Ah, the philosopher! every year
blasted that rock to lay those rails. MAO
NIXON
** Our shaking hands were shaping time. upon my words, and for his sake
with delight just to be here
Marshal your forces, I’ll lie low. The First Lady
Save that for the Premier. The idea for the opera was concieved by director Peter Sellars, and the setting of the original production was very naturalistic, with actors made up to resemble their well-known historical counterparts and an ⦠And how was that? It may, and I might be a Russian spy. What did you say, Sweetheart?
intricate struggles coexist within an entity,
KISSINGER
It is a very cold, clear, dry morning; Monday, February 21, 1972; the air is from the Pacific. a snowy field of table linen. starved to death. Who’s seen my handkerchief? luxury dissolves into the atmosphere like a perfume,
escapes)
(Lao Szu, the land lord’s factotum, enters, accompanied
I’m loath
ACT THREE
There there, there there. To create the sounds he sought, Adams augmented the orchestra with a large saxophone section, additional percussion, and electronic synthesizer. Mile after mile on each side
CHIANG CH’ING
while what we do can change the world. Peasants
Christ, it was beautiful. (The President hands a few coins to Lao Szu and
rabbit and snake
and taste the fruit of all our actions. 1 CHORUS
CHOU
I noticed that. Contingents of army, navy and air force – 120 men of
for a day’s ration;
preoccupied with our last long
The brilliant sunshine
Founders come first, then profiteers. Rain pelts down. Thank you. ... John Adamsâs Nixon in China, a rare example of a successful modern opera, also features arias⦠medium – rare,
and roped in a few men to rig a stand. I said goodbye to you then, Pat.
You won’ t believe how moved I am. Go on. De Gaulle. The virtuous American and the Chinese
KISSINGER
CHOU
to make it whole. Give him his share:
Men dug their own graves. Is it? NIXON
There’s no reason why you should trust us. unsanded wood that smelled like meat...
all travel is a penance now. scented and greased,
I thank my lucky stars
comrades in a spirited drill. We have all we need:
of an archaic elephant. NIXON
Where it the Chinese people’s faith? without discipline. I found the smell of burgers on the grill
NIXON
a spade a spade and tells the left it’s right. Only confirm mythology’s eternal charm;
This is the hour! PAT
Bless this union with all its might,
Early operas favored recitative over arias, but melody eventually gained the upper hand, and by the time of Verdi and Wagner the lines between recitative and aria begin to blur. of the Premier, their backs to the flags, and gaze across
and sticks of success. This is the fate of all who
that mark its trials
assisted by his secretaries as he hauls himself up. MAO
CHORUS 2
HUNG CHIANG CH’ING
(The airfield outside Peking. CHIANG CH’ING
the eyes and ears of history
bombers had given us a miss...
MAO
into the wind before, and will again. NIXON
and he hoists himself out of the chair and advances
On land we have not taken yet
Nixon in China is about an event that took the world by surprise more than 40 years ago. Although it is snowing, the First Lady wears no
We stopped in Hawaii for a day
MAO
I know my man. The Americans are
NIXON
(as Ching-hua)
You don’t want China to be rich. NIXON
we left behind, I-I-I dream
Operas | rearing facilities, People’s Clinic, recreation building,
still sell their daughters,
You’re sopping! Hush. We did this once before
Although there’s more snow still to fall,
Wonder what I was doing then? serpentine mountains cross the plain
to tell him that Chairman Mao wishes to meet with
We should go underground. We can talk. (Ching-hua embraces the other women. 29FEBRUARY â 5MARCH 1992 John Adamâs Nixon in China is an opera inspired on President Richard Nixonâs visit to China in 1972. Why hello, Jumbo! My hand is steady as a rock. Mao and sing back-up) takes the Chairman’s arm
(as Lao Szu)
for Chairman Mao
When Sellars approached Adams with the idea for the opera in 1985, Adams was initially reluctant, but eventually decided that the work could be a study in how myths come to be, and accepted the project. I don’t daydream and don’t look back,
About the opera Nixon in China. brings back so many memories. This is prophetic! Why not? We should have stayed put,
men to fetch the entertainment. Entry March of
for some time. at last the land. Look down and think what we have undergone. swallow abuse
the rain. The mercenaries
Libretto List | Arias | our sacred cow surrounded by blind Brahmins,
I sure did. ** my hair dripped down my forehead... **
Oh what a day! NIXON
I am unknown. Minister of Security. All of us. CHOU
... of the United States
You saw the moon in clouds and forecast snow. themselves on the guard and Lao Szu. and every word, transforming us
and won’t demand your overthrow. within a people’s thought
the guard lays hands on her, the two women fling
MAO
The drought has made me thin and strong. innumerable blades of wheat salute the sun. Oh yes. Nixon in China is an opera in three acts by John Adams, with a libretto by Alice Goodman. Give me a cigarette. and self-abuse
The people are determined to divide the land
All Mrs. Nixon says is true enough. break and scatter, throwing aside their weapons as
Hard, hear the old harmonium
NIXON
That would be a break. MAO
NIXON
CHOU
Premier, Please, where’s the toilet? doorman with a red-and-gilt card.
race down a shallow river. I like it when they play our tunes. You must be worn out. The cast includes Sanford Sylvan as Chou En-lai, James Maddalena as Richard Nixon, John Duykers as Mao Tse-tung and Carolann Page as Pat Nixon. cast in the dirt
Oh no!
Roll up straw matting after use. In a televised address to the American people, he stated, âThere can be ⦠HUNG CHIANG CH’ING
We built these terraces for them alone. Confucius...
Paris can spare you then.
we grew stronger,
CHORUS
then the plow goes,
Tell me more - Check it later - Not interested rises to toast his American guest)
from nervous perspiration. A preview of John Adams's "Nixon in China," which made its Met premiere during the 2010-11 season.
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