you could hardly tell that from this opera though..love Chou's costume btw and Mao was an oppertunistic jerk: Nixon shouldn't have pandered to such a monster who made HItler look moderate.
pity Chou let himself become Mao's wipping post for most of his career and didn't stand up to Mao enough during his extremely long reign of terror which started in 1931-34 then continued in 1942-43 and then ended in 1949-76 (three differen phases of terror) although Chou did attempt to stand up to Mao in 1956-57 along with other communists but Mao denounced him as a "quasi-rightist" and almost had him shot and sacked him as minister for foreign affairs.
This makes me want to become a pilot, learn how to fly (preferably learn first before becoming a pilot) get some big ass bomber with a beast of a roar for an engine, fit it with some crazy ass subwoofers blurting this out and go bomb the crap out of some non communism country. My own will do, I just want to blow things up! Screw ride of the valkeries
I went to see this opera at English National Opera when it premiered in the UK in 2000, simply out of curiosity. I fell in love with it straight away, and never tire of hearing it. It has only been revived here once since then which i also saw. I am hoping for a first class stage/movie version on film or DVD! It is a truly great modern opera.
Nixon's entrance is really great! I never studied classic music, but I like to trying when I'm alone "News, News, News, News... have a, have a, have a kind of mistery, mistery...".
I love this opera, I saw it on the weekend when Mubarak was ousted from power in Egypt. So the line, "The People are the Heroes now Bethmoth pulls the peasants plow" had a particular resonence when I heard it.
Nixon's entrance is indeed an amazing bit of stage craft. I love the It is a historical deus ex machina in which we all history pivot. It also goes a long way in making Richard and Pat seem mythic.
When you are at an opera, it's all about the voice, not the color of the person singing. Nobody cares a bit when a black singer or an Asian singer has a starring role in an Italian or German opera--as long as he or she has good pipes! Go see any American big city opera company, and you will routinely see black singers posing as Italian, German, Spanish, etc. peasants and soldiers in the chorus. Nobody gets upset or thinks about it twice. Porgy and Bess is a special case, by the way.
"We came in peace for all mankind...we came in peace for all mankind...I said...I said...I said..."
megalomania.
Loved the "News News News....has a kind of mystery..." sung while he betrays his detachment to the people he shakes hands with...Nixon's obsession with the spotlight and his awe-inspiring position in the world...no humility except perhaps in his self-congratulations. Is this an accurate portrayal of the man...The President of those 'unsettled Times'?
Nixon's entrance is stunning -- the orchestration, the camera angles, the symbolic still shot of the handshake with Chou En-lai -- a breathtaking operatic moment...
I know it's pointless to bring this up because the performance was done in the 80s when less care was taken in this area...but it is always so weird to see a bunch of white people with "chinese" hairstyles...much harder to take it seriously than when I listen to it and imagine a real landing in China! I wish they could do a movie version with authentic casting! I love the singing though- such beautiful music and superb singing!
It's a byproduct of the telecast. What works in the theater - when the audience is sitting at some distance from the stage - doesn't always work for television.
It's funny, though, how opera companies will go to great pains to hire an all-black cast for 'Porgy and Bess', while you almost never see all-Asian casts for, say, 'Turandot' or 'Madama Butterfly'. I suppose some ethnicities are easier to fake than others.
As for a movie version of 'Nixon in China'...now THAT would be something.
@JeeRant I interpret this entire opera as a satire on Americanism itself. There is a humor to the libretto which is enhanced further by the fact that white people are singing it in mental place of Chinese people. Its almost as if the Chinese here IS a reflection of us, we reach out to a people who so very badly want to be the U.S. and in a sense we encounter ourselves.
@fluidicmethod That's an interesting point you make. But if I may: I think that Adams/Goodman weren't trying to satirize Americanism so much as the grand public spectacle that was made out of Nixon's trip. Nixon's trip to China was almost entirely symbolic, on a practical level, very little was actually accomplished. So on the grand operatic stage, these huge personalities make a great splash. But in truth, the entire affair is ultimately meaningless.
@JeeRant The reason that trouble is taken with the casting of Porgy and Bess is because the Gershiwn estate, in accordance with George Gershwin's wishes, require the opera to be performed by an all-black cast. And really, in this day and age don't you think white singers in blackface would be distractingly offensive? And, FWIW, I know a singer of Chinese descent who told me she finds Turandot racist and misogynist and not very good. Can't win. :)
@JeeRant Actually, Porgy and Bess has to be performed with an all-black cast. Those were the terms of Gershwin's will and his estate enforces that to this day. No permission granted unless all the cast is black (with the exception of the two white non-singing characters). My school wanted to do a performance with all black soloists but we could not get an all-black chorus and the estate declined permission. So as far as Porgy is concerned it is not the about the ability to fake a race.
@JeeRant They have no choice but to hire all-black casts for Porgy. It's stipulated in Gershwin's will, and until it comes out of copyright into public domain that's how it will stay.
I am not sure about "less care being taken". We have been seeking to be colour blind in the theatre for a long time. Otherwise no singer of a non-caucasian ethnicity could ever play a character in a historical opera set in Europe, apart from in a very few special roles. The Porgy and Bess example is something of a red herring. It is performed by a black cast only because the Gerschwin estate demands that. It will change I suppose when the opera is out of copyright.
I'm gonna have to say "no" when it's a school play. However, hen I saw the version of "Cinderella" starring Brandy with a Black and White king and queen whose natural son was Asian? Yeah, that was a bit silly. However, is it so ridiculous to mention the Mao casting when the media would react very negatively to a Malcolm X or Martin Luther King Opera with a White lead in blackface? How about a Chinese Che Gevarra?
@MrNoelJMIS It's a good production, but the casting IS really jarring. I'm surprised it's the fake Chinese that jumped out at you when makeup didn't even bother hiding Nixon's soul.
you could hardly tell that from this opera though..love Chou's costume btw and Mao was an oppertunistic jerk: Nixon shouldn't have pandered to such a monster who made HItler look moderate.
crownprincetaffe 1 month ago
pity Chou let himself become Mao's wipping post for most of his career and didn't stand up to Mao enough during his extremely long reign of terror which started in 1931-34 then continued in 1942-43 and then ended in 1949-76 (three differen phases of terror) although Chou did attempt to stand up to Mao in 1956-57 along with other communists but Mao denounced him as a "quasi-rightist" and almost had him shot and sacked him as minister for foreign affairs.
crownprincetaffe 1 month ago
Nixon did land in China at night. We saw it live on TV. This isn't that far off.
67rml 2 months ago
I love that the piano & glockenspiel give the performers their cues.
thegoodgeneral 2 months ago
Thumbs up if you want to listen to the plane landing music while on a flight taking off/landing :)
pageturner95 4 months ago
This makes me want to become a pilot, learn how to fly (preferably learn first before becoming a pilot) get some big ass bomber with a beast of a roar for an engine, fit it with some crazy ass subwoofers blurting this out and go bomb the crap out of some non communism country. My own will do, I just want to blow things up! Screw ride of the valkeries
Bububaps 4 months ago
@Bububaps Right on. Take me with you.
JeeRant 4 months ago
@JeeRant You two fools. The civilians are innocent. Bomb the parliaments, not the people.
VeritasInVideo 1 month ago
This music makes me want to run around all over the place and jump high in the air. They should play it in clubs - it's great to dance to.
stickyfixer1 4 months ago
communism owns.
Ratama 6 months ago
I hated Nixon in 1974. Now I see him as a great President, and not just for his China visit - In the top 5 !
TheBeechingAxe 7 months ago
Great opera, especially since at the begining of this clip, that particular song features in Civ 4... Wish that was my ringtone...
xx9933yyzz 7 months ago
@xx9933yyzz Welcome to the modern age!
deepfugue 3 months ago in playlist Nixon in China
I went to see this opera at English National Opera when it premiered in the UK in 2000, simply out of curiosity. I fell in love with it straight away, and never tire of hearing it. It has only been revived here once since then which i also saw. I am hoping for a first class stage/movie version on film or DVD! It is a truly great modern opera.
bluetagg 9 months ago
I love how Air Force One can land vertically, like a harrier. And that Nixon seems to have a stutter: "has a, has a, has a kind of mysterYyYyYy..."
sheavsey 9 months ago
@aderromi
minimalism is art's savior, Mark Rothko, Glass, Adams, Reich, minimalism has done the most for modern art and music
slaytesics 9 months ago
Nixon's entrance is really great! I never studied classic music, but I like to trying when I'm alone "News, News, News, News... have a, have a, have a kind of mistery, mistery...".
Swordman85 11 months ago
I love this opera, I saw it on the weekend when Mubarak was ousted from power in Egypt. So the line, "The People are the Heroes now Bethmoth pulls the peasants plow" had a particular resonence when I heard it.
Nixon's entrance is indeed an amazing bit of stage craft. I love the It is a historical deus ex machina in which we all history pivot. It also goes a long way in making Richard and Pat seem mythic.
lorddio99 1 year ago
I want to see an opera on Reagan and Gorbachev
darkhyena 1 year ago
The set looks exactly like the HD performance that I just saw on Saturday - is that possible?
bjhcohen 1 year ago
@bjhcohen
Both productions had the same director, Peter Sellars, and the same set designer, Adrianne Lobel.
Nullifidian 1 year ago
When you are at an opera, it's all about the voice, not the color of the person singing. Nobody cares a bit when a black singer or an Asian singer has a starring role in an Italian or German opera--as long as he or she has good pipes! Go see any American big city opera company, and you will routinely see black singers posing as Italian, German, Spanish, etc. peasants and soldiers in the chorus. Nobody gets upset or thinks about it twice. Porgy and Bess is a special case, by the way.
todtubbi 1 year ago
"We came in peace for all mankind...we came in peace for all mankind...I said...I said...I said..."
megalomania.
Loved the "News News News....has a kind of mystery..." sung while he betrays his detachment to the people he shakes hands with...Nixon's obsession with the spotlight and his awe-inspiring position in the world...no humility except perhaps in his self-congratulations. Is this an accurate portrayal of the man...The President of those 'unsettled Times'?
deepfugue 1 year ago
heard it first time plaing Civ4 =D
TheRealBlackRefleX 1 year ago
This is hilarious and very well done. Thank you for posting.
darrellcalvillo 1 year ago
Gotta love the little bit of the US national anthem at 3:16
esmhorn 1 year ago
'....bruegal, pat said.....' '.......and we have flown east of the sun, and west of the moon.....' sheer poetry. thank you so much for posting this.
gramule 1 year ago
Nixon's entrance is stunning -- the orchestration, the camera angles, the symbolic still shot of the handshake with Chou En-lai -- a breathtaking operatic moment...
UET2 1 year ago 12
I know it's pointless to bring this up because the performance was done in the 80s when less care was taken in this area...but it is always so weird to see a bunch of white people with "chinese" hairstyles...much harder to take it seriously than when I listen to it and imagine a real landing in China! I wish they could do a movie version with authentic casting! I love the singing though- such beautiful music and superb singing!
MrNoelJMIS 1 year ago 4
It's a byproduct of the telecast. What works in the theater - when the audience is sitting at some distance from the stage - doesn't always work for television.
It's funny, though, how opera companies will go to great pains to hire an all-black cast for 'Porgy and Bess', while you almost never see all-Asian casts for, say, 'Turandot' or 'Madama Butterfly'. I suppose some ethnicities are easier to fake than others.
As for a movie version of 'Nixon in China'...now THAT would be something.
JeeRant 1 year ago 14
@JeeRant I interpret this entire opera as a satire on Americanism itself. There is a humor to the libretto which is enhanced further by the fact that white people are singing it in mental place of Chinese people. Its almost as if the Chinese here IS a reflection of us, we reach out to a people who so very badly want to be the U.S. and in a sense we encounter ourselves.
fluidicmethod 1 year ago
@fluidicmethod That's an interesting point you make. But if I may: I think that Adams/Goodman weren't trying to satirize Americanism so much as the grand public spectacle that was made out of Nixon's trip. Nixon's trip to China was almost entirely symbolic, on a practical level, very little was actually accomplished. So on the grand operatic stage, these huge personalities make a great splash. But in truth, the entire affair is ultimately meaningless.
UnDead483 1 year ago
@JeeRant The reason that trouble is taken with the casting of Porgy and Bess is because the Gershiwn estate, in accordance with George Gershwin's wishes, require the opera to be performed by an all-black cast. And really, in this day and age don't you think white singers in blackface would be distractingly offensive? And, FWIW, I know a singer of Chinese descent who told me she finds Turandot racist and misogynist and not very good. Can't win. :)
CRanapia 1 year ago
this is great. Is there any way to purchase the dvd of this? I only find cds on amazon.
deepfugue 1 year ago
@JeeRant Actually, Porgy and Bess has to be performed with an all-black cast. Those were the terms of Gershwin's will and his estate enforces that to this day. No permission granted unless all the cast is black (with the exception of the two white non-singing characters). My school wanted to do a performance with all black soloists but we could not get an all-black chorus and the estate declined permission. So as far as Porgy is concerned it is not the about the ability to fake a race.
rexglensy 1 year ago
@JeeRant They have no choice but to hire all-black casts for Porgy. It's stipulated in Gershwin's will, and until it comes out of copyright into public domain that's how it will stay.
mefistofele 1 year ago
@JeeRant
I've noticed casting isn't always done on the basis of looking the part though. Black opera singers do white and Asian roles all the time.
AlmostFamous173 9 months ago
@JeeRant I bet in 10 years wearing Asian makeup and facial props will be considered vulgar and racist.
eedobee 3 weeks ago
@MrNoelJMIS
there are only so many people that are both asian and can sing oprea well
Makeoutparadise2 1 year ago
@Makeoutparadise2 I'd like to test that theory though...
MrNoelJMIS 1 year ago
@MrNoelJMIS
I am not sure about "less care being taken". We have been seeking to be colour blind in the theatre for a long time. Otherwise no singer of a non-caucasian ethnicity could ever play a character in a historical opera set in Europe, apart from in a very few special roles. The Porgy and Bess example is something of a red herring. It is performed by a black cast only because the Gerschwin estate demands that. It will change I suppose when the opera is out of copyright.
Operataurus 1 year ago 2
@MrNoelJMIS i bet you complain when a black kid is casted with a white mother in a school play.
Ratama 11 months ago
@Ratama OMG this post was so four months ago...
but, since you are betting...
I'm gonna have to say "no" when it's a school play. However, hen I saw the version of "Cinderella" starring Brandy with a Black and White king and queen whose natural son was Asian? Yeah, that was a bit silly. However, is it so ridiculous to mention the Mao casting when the media would react very negatively to a Malcolm X or Martin Luther King Opera with a White lead in blackface? How about a Chinese Che Gevarra?
MrNoelJMIS 11 months ago
@MrNoelJMIS It's a good production, but the casting IS really jarring. I'm surprised it's the fake Chinese that jumped out at you when makeup didn't even bother hiding Nixon's soul.
bmcprime 9 months ago
@bmcprime In fairness finding that many Chinese people in America who can sing opera must be quite difficult.
DuffyZeEmu 8 months ago
@MrNoelJMIS It's a little blackface....
eedobee 3 weeks ago
"News" is such a great aria, I've always loved it since I first heard it!
Keytaster 1 year ago 2
omg thank you!!!
wbarco 2 years ago
SIMPLEMENTE GRACIAS!!!!! :-)
edugam 2 years ago
Thanks for posting this. I got the music from itunes and loved it ,but it really helps to be able to match words to actions.
Nerpha 2 years ago