Nixon In China: Act II Scene 2b - I'm the Wife of Mao Zedong

[300musicmaster]

i love how she was demoted to the trio in the met production, but hey when they can afford Kathleen Kim...

[yemonjastanley]

When she sings "revolution"... I could just replay that high note over and over :D

[Clementine80210]

Unbelievably shrill voice - gives me chills. Love it.

[Laeliapurpurata]

Singing in English never sounds good... but this I would endure because it's fantastic.

[mejoeification]

I love those bluesy swinging rhythms –– great aria for a coloratura

[oreosandmik09]

The Met's is so much more intense.

[johndburt]

@oreosandmik09 Agreed. But this version is pretty good too.

[tenor220]

This is an odd voice.

[makemeapie234]

The book the book the book!

[Kaidanji]

Is it just me, or is Madam Mao in this version one of Mao's secretaries in the Met production? :x

[sweetfuckingchrist]

@Kaidanji I think you're right.

[thenotorioustroll]

this is just ridiculous...like...what?!!

[Ringkichardthethird]

So I suppose she speaks according to the book.

[lornamoone]

BTW, back then it was Mao Tse Tung, not 'Zedong'!

[cdpete]

Kathleen Kim was amazing in yesterday's simulcast - a tour de force! And Adams' conducting thrilling!

[kaustin6969]

The soprano in the Met version "hits" the right tone! Very aggressive! This orchestral sound is clearer, but Adams' version is in an entirely different league in emotional intensity.

[vap0rtranz]

most INTENSE scene of the opera

[FayeJaay]

Just saw the simulcast yesterday. Adams conducts this twice as fast. The new Madame Mao is astonishingly great and the updated staging is even more thrilling. Incredible.

[sfericmars]

Still fucking amazing.

[intheatremode]

This is so incredible. I have chills. I can't wait to see Nixon in China at the Met in February!

[monsieurw1]

Actually, I was thinking while seeing this that it reminded me of Roman Catholic indoctrination: the Catechism, the Inquisitions, and the blind eye which the Church turned to the Holocaust. I spent just enough time in that system to see the parallels.

[Varese13]

@AquaExecution: Adams is an American and he and his librettist translate the underlying point of the scene into something which Americans might recognize, and I think that's what makes it so effective and comedic. It's a kind of cultural pun. Incidentally, I have never personally attended a revival meeting.

[Varese13]

@AquaExecution : I was around when the Chinese Cultural Revolution was going on, and recall when "the book" was fashionable among French philosophers and otherwise reasonable left-leaning college students. The soloist and chorus screaming "the book" is as redolent of old American revival meetings as it is of Madame Mao's extravaganzas. So while your point is well taken, it misses the larger point that is possible to use one form of extremism to illustrate another, especially in an opera.

[AquaExecution]

@Varese13 I guess I see your point. I'm actually not very familiar with the old American revival meetings, but it just goes to show you how similar human beings are doesn't matter which culture or ethnicity you are from.

[RudigerVT]

The book! The book! The book!!!!!!

[gomongio]

I would have to listen to the entire opera and the entire renditions of these modern operas by Adams to make my opinion of them, but musically it sounds interesting.... but i must confess i don't like to hear English in operas.

[HectorJW2007]

Wife of Mao Zedong looks yummy... I mean the soprano, of course ;-)

[ncherone]

While this aria is incredible, I cannot believe the choice of Trudy Ellen Craney as Madame Mao. Her voice opens up nicely for the highest high notes, but the rest of her voice sounds like a dying animal. There were so many other coloraturas that could have handled this role and sung it much more beautifully!

[megashoo]

i was at the paris premier nite!!! lol.it took me 10minutes to get into it,but once i did i was amazed! the little effort gave great rewards.is it me or is there some mozart in there.the way the whole scene works reminds me of queen of the nite(a bit).love it!

[HectorJW2007]

Well, 10 minutes into the play you find the great chorus "The People Are the Heroes Now", followed by the landing of the plane and "News!"

[iiiset]

AMAZING

[evanwilliamsmusic]

This is my favorite part of this opera. This soprano is so good!

[sweltame]

I am the wife of Mao Tse-tung Who raised the weak above the strong

When I appear the people hang upon my words, and for his sake

whose wreaths are heavy round my neck I speak according to the book

When did the Chinese people last expose its daughters?

At the breast of history I sucked and pissed

Thoughtless and heartless, red and blind

I cut my teeth upon the land and when I walked my feet were bound

On revolution. Let me be A grain of sand in heaven's eye and I shall taste eternal joy.

[sweltame]

I am the wife of Mao Tse-tung Who raised the weak above the strong

When I appear the people hang upon my words, and for his sake

whose wreaths are heavy round my neck I speak according to the book

When did the Chinese people last expose its daughters?

At the breast of history I sucked and pissed

Thoughtless and heartless, red and blind

I cut my teeth upon the land and when I walked my feet were bound

On revolution. Let me be A grain of sand in heaven's eye and I shall taste eternal joy.

[otherlisa5]

I saw the Long Beach production last night -- though I don't know that the Houston/LA version could ever be topped in my own mind, I really enjoyed the LB production and the different staging. Kudos to them for taking on something this challenging!

[laterre52]

It will be in Long Beach CA, in Mach 20 and 28th

[Nullifidian]

Unfortunately, I won't be. My car tire blew out on the way there. By the time I got it changed, it was too late. Not that I'm bitter or anything.

Still, much props to the LBO for their productions of modern operas, and I hope nothing unexpected prevents me from seeing the last production of this season.

[bottledmagic]

Is this opera available on DVD or something? I would like to watch the whole thing.

[samarabob]

check the description! though the one the link sells is very bare bones - a dvd, but no case.

[brutusbassoon]

@bottledmagic I know that it is, but I'm not sure on which label it is. check amazon

[tedsler]

I am usually not a huge fan of modern opera, but this one is amazing!

I was in English National Opera's 2004 production and I loved it! 3rd act drags a bit but on the whole I loved it.

And Mme Mao's aria here in 2nd act is mindblowing when you are on stage next to her :))

Thanks for posting x

[briantheslug]

This is one cunt of an opera, it fucked the shit out of my brain.

[johncrwarner]

@briantheslug can you explain your interpretation of this opera?

[briantheslug]

your having a fucking laugh, I explain nothing.

[johncrwarner]

I asked you to explain - you offered an interpretation of the opera "it fucked the shit out of my brain" and "it is one c**t of an opera" - I was just wondering what you meant by these statements?

[akoff]

SUBTITULOS POR FAVOR !!! Internet is not just english !! Thanks.

[unfloppo]

again I say, yeah, babe. hit me with that book.

[richardphx]

Best video clip I have ever seen on youtiube, period. A work of genius, a performance from god.

[KellstErik]

yeah it was pretty good i guess

[jacarandaxia]

Full of shit! F***** Yank!

[KellstErik]

Zhen de, hen duo meiguoren bu xihuan zhe ge jingju yinwei gei ci ye bu xihuan meiguo. Also, the word is "fucking".

[jacarandaxia]

Another American-based propaganda, so biased towards 60s-70s China.

[talthan]

the best kind right? go live somewhere else you pathetic leach

[blackeconomics]

Fucking  amazing .

[desongliu]

crap!

[johncrwarner]

Perhaps minimalist opera - one of the greatest operas of the late twentieth century isn't your cup of tea but I disagree with you that it is "crap".

[coosoorlog]

Nixon in China, Satyagraha, Thomas and Peter Grimes

[johncrwarner]

Not sure I understand your comment? Are you listing what you consider to be the greatest operas since 1945?

If so - "Nixon in China" - check,

"Satyagraha" - I prefer "Einstein on the Beach" and "Akhenaten" over "Satyagraha" even though the topic of the opera is superior,

"Thomas" - I do not know but assume it is the Rautavaara opera - will need to check it out,

"Peter Grimes" - check - one of the great operas of all time.

[coosoorlog]

That's exactly what I tried to convey, yes =).

Thomas is not well known at all, but I really recommend it. It's not all that influential, so in that sense, it cannot be labelled as one of the greatest. With Satyagraha, I guess, I emhasize the content somewhat more than musical "rigour". For influence and innovation alone, of course, Einstein on the Beach should triumph here.

[coosoorlog]

For me, all these operas deliver powerful and important messages that are very relevant to the latter 20th century culture, and that's one of the reasons I return to them time and again. Peter Grimes, I think, is more 'timeless' in this regard. Nixon in China is very specific but it's specific about political realities that pretty much define the whole era.

[johncrwarner]

and yet I feel Nixon in China is also about archetypes and the consequences of these people on the world - this scene for example where the ballet "red detachment of women" draws in the protagonists - so we see the zeal of Madame Mao leading her to more cruelty than the villain in the ballet.

[thallocub]

add "Perseo e Andromeda" by Salvatore Sciarrino... and some more Britten :-)

[jacarandaxia]

What the hack is this crap? Cultral Revolution show in English language? Unbelievable!

[VictimOfBoredom]

It's not a "show"; it's an opera. And of course it's in English; it was written by an English-speaker for an English-speaking audience. You can't exactly substitle an opera, ya know. -_-

[johncrwarner]

Dis you not read the sidebar with all the information that tells you this is part of an opera about Richard Nixon's visit to China in 1972. It was the time of the height of the late cultural revolution and the power of Jiang Qing the wife of Mao Zedong and her cultural stranglehold over the artistic world of China. This scene works on a multitude of levels as does the whole opera.

[Varese52]

Was so dumbfounded the first time I saw this (on PBS years ago) that I didn't notice until now that when Mme. Mao sings: "I speak according to the Book", followed by the chorus shouting, Adams does an hilarious invocation of a Christian fundamentalist revival meeting. So, it is a double-edged satire.

[AquaExecution]

@Varese52 I doubt that Adams ever meant to invoke shadows of Christian fundamentalist meetings. The real life Cultural Revolution itself is already heavily influenced by practices of the Western religions. The bible is replaced by the "Little Red Book", God became Mao, Bible study groups became revolutionary meetings, etc. This is not just an artistic elaboration of the opera, this is real life China in 1970s. Scary stuff.

[jppennati]

j'ai découvert cette oeuvre sur aol-radio...je ne m'en lasse pas

[Renfeildette]

Her voice is gorgeous!!! I've just started liking Adams. I was never a minimalist fan, but now I am! :)

[johncrwarner]

This opera converted me to opera.

[rexeterna]

where was this production?

[Bobbo22]

Houston, 1987

[flipsyboy]

I loved the way this was staged--with the terrified Pat Nixon standing in front of the action, absolutely frozen as to what to do...

[dka422]

Does anyone know where I can get a DVD of this opera? I'm dying to see the whole thing!!

[hfxmagdude]

fabulous....

[altodivo]

A friend of mine dresses just like her....hmmm...

[lewcifer3rd]

hit me with that book, baby.

[karina1510]

haha!!

[GirlCort]

That was amazing. I love her voice. I love the song! I love message in the song! I wish i could see this live!

[jevalles]

"The people hang upon my words!" Indeed they did--they both listened with rapt, terror-filled attention, and (some of them) were hanged--literally! A perfect lyric.

[DANILISHINA]

Stirring, so impressive performance...I didn´t know about this opera, it´s fantastic idea to create such a theme...congratulations to the authors and performers!me myself have enough of experience with living in totalitarian regimen so I have one great whish - let people all over the world live in peace...Love. Natali, Czech Republic

[Swordman85]

What totalitarian regime you are talking about? The US regime?

[DANILISHINA]

Of course not. As I wrote I am living in Czech Republic and I had been living in socialism-comunism cca 25 years. More-my father experienced the comunistic terror in USSR (Stalin´s genocida of many people).That´s about I was speaking.

[Swordman85]

I don´t even know about what "communist terror" you are speaking about, because I know many ppl who were there and loved the country and ppl, intelectuals like A. L. Strong and L. Wittgenstein, unsuspect of any communist simpathies, who lived there and describe the beauty of USSR.

The only terror that I know is the terror of USA, a country where blacks were treated like Jews in Nazi Germany. Did you know that till 60s interracial marriages were forbidden by law?

[zahzuh]

Unfortunately You are wrong. I'll grant you your heart is in the right place, but that doesn't change the fact that you're wrong. I'm black so I've experienced the racism first hand and know ppl who have experienced worse.

but I also know ppl who escaped and or just survived, and despite what the apologists and those too busy writing opinions rather than doing research would like you to believe there was Communist Terror . We(USA)come out pretty benignly in the book of 20th century history

[Swordman85]

USA killed the triple of "Stalin victims", specially Native Americans(by millions) and lots of other nationalities, ppl from Iraq, Syria, Liberia, Ethiopia... from a total of 53 countries, as pointed by the philosopher D. J. Krus.

USSR really killed, as happens in any country with Penal system, the difference is that in Soviet Union the true guilties were punished, ppl who wished to sold their countries and make it look like USA.

[Swordman85]

You think that only USSR imprisioned dissidents? Read about "Patriot Act", J. and E. Rosemberg, C. Chaplin, the Black Panters, the Cubans imprisioned for blaming Bush for terrorism, Angela Davis...

You get scared about Gulags? Gulags were a heaven compared to Guantanamo.

[idontcareforthis]

I am strongly of the opinion that you exaggerate, perhaps erroneously, with regard to your comparison of Stalin's Gulag prisons with Guantanamo bay. I recommend (though there are many other books by other Russian authors) The Gulag Archipelago by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn. There were a vast number of Gulags, all of them anonymous, and many if not all of them worked their countless nameless inhabitants to an unreported death in sub zero temperatures.

Guantanamo - famous, photographed, documented.

[Corvusdotensis]

Excuse me but it´s good to be careful with Solzhenytsin views, since he shared the same viewpoints of Andrey Vlassov and even eulogized hitlerite invaders several times. He even condemned the independence of African colonies and invited US to invade Portugal during the "Revolução dos cravos", we are talking about a man awarded with "Nobel prize of peace".

Aleksander had reasons to hate USSR and Stalin´s time and his views are partial and reactionary, without credit.

[ScriabinFanatic]

Where is your source of information. I predict it to be very biased. As you have clearly shown that with USSR you cherry pick sources that fit your view and you probably cherry picked sources to support your views of USA.

About USSR, it suppressed its artists. Shostakovich had to withdraw some peices, The Lady of Mtensk District and Symphony No. 4 because of fears of going to Gulag, he also was at one point a person of interest to the Soviet Secret Police and almost was to be killed.

[talthan]

yeah the freedoms americans enjoy suck in comparasion

[PieterdeRooijHolland]

"When I appear the people hang... when I appear the people hang upon my words" and "I speak according to the book", Mao's wife sings. This scene is soo full of hysteria, horror and... of how things appear(ed) in reality. Adam's music, Sellar's direction and Alice Goodman's libretto reach a great climax here. Shivers down my spine when I watch and hear this. Brilliant!

[promtaet]

Strange beaty women! Good singer

[AsianT]

Fantastic!!!

The composer has caught some of the craziness in JiangQing's character via the music.

[blackeconomics]

I went the ENO IN 1999 to see this, it was amazing.

[runitsgibert]

Is it just me or is Mao's wife one of the worst singers ever?

[whubel]

just you

[meriomeri]

snap

[LaMostraESopra]

No I agree.  But I still think she's outrageously awesome.

[Bobbo22]

No, I was in attendance at all of the initial performances of this opera from which this video was taken. The role, especially in this scene, is formidably difficult. Trudy Ellen Craney, who sang Mme Mao, was superb across the course of the evening.

[newsoftheworld123]

oh snap. THAT just happened...

[tacetviola]

this is amazing

[yinblacks]

strange

[oshopiano]

AMAZING. This opera is a masterpiece. Thanks for posting!!!