Nixon in China - "I am the wife of Mao Tse-tung" excerpt - The Metropolitan Opera

[HeidelbergSoprano]

God American opera is terrible.

[elevensevenkevin]

how the fuck did i get here?

[madamerotten]

The greatest American opera is Porgy and Bess.

[markduran49]

french and italian operas are better

[nicolecolvett]

@markduran49

Oh, so you must be some expert now. I'm sure nobody can appreciate music like you even though I doubt you listened for more than a few seconds before posting a comment that you really have no reason to bring up except to look cool.

[RicaXIE]

给力！

[mejoeification]

She kinda reminds me of Ms. Li from Daria.

[wurry77]

中小企業のさえないオールドミスの経理社員みたいなのが

主役なのかｗすげえな。

パスポートをなぜかざしつつ唄うのか。面白い。

[devize92]

ok...ey...

[icylakepaxphile]

@wurry77 文化大革命時期の”赤い語録”ですね。

[breakaliciouskid786]

Um.. I watched this last night.. and could someone help me out.. but WHAT THE FUCK WAS THIS??!

[rscmrcmd]

@breakaliciouskid786 This is the Metropolitan Opera's debut of John Adams' 'Nixon in China', a behind the scenes look at Richard Nixon's 1972 trip to China. At one point in the opera the Nixons are attending a performance of The Peking Ballet and Pat Nixon interferes when she thinks a girl is being whipped. Chiang Ching (sung by Kathleen Kim) then rushes in and sings an aria praising the glories of the Cultural Revolution. Kathleen Kim is a beautiful (you can't tell here) coloratura soprano.

[breakaliciouskid786]

@rscmrcmd Thank you! so much I watched this last night and I was trying to figure out what was going on.

THANK YOU

[rscmrcmd]

@breakaliciouskid786 You're welcome. Someone has posted the complete aria. Maybe it is from the simulcast. The Youtube title is, Kathleen Kim (Nixon in China).

[rscmrcmd]

I love Trudy Ellen Craney's performance so much, I wouldn't think anyone could come near it. I know what critics have said but I can't help it. I think it is one of the most thrilling aria's ever written for the stage and her interpretation breathtaking. However when Kathleen Kim was finished singing the audience at the Met was on fire. This is a stirring performance by Ms. Kim. Somewhere between Ms. Craney and Ms Kim is the actual Madame Mao.

[ernestalba]

I love this aria, one of my favorite in all of opera.

[thallocub]

I love the aria but not the way she's singing it. I think she is supposed to be authoritarian, not angry. I would have used more legato, the sentence "who raised the weak above the strong" is grandioso, almost wagnerian... not picchettato.

But that's the way i feel it, so it's just an opinion

[sweetfuckingchrist]

@thallocub How can you do authoritarion without anger?

[thallocub]

@sweetfuckingchrist , look for wagnerian female singers, people like Marta Modl, Gwyneth Jones, Eva Marton, or belcanto roles, like Norma or Donn'Anna in Don Giovanni, they are authoritarian, grave, royal, with no touch of anger. Btw, it's a technical thing, in my opinion. I'm an opere singer, and i think that the difference is one single thing: appoggio. The appoggio is a breathing technique that allows u to sustain the sharp sounds, showing no effort and making the sound strong but fluid.

[jimraw1]

I never realized it until now but you can see the influence of Phillip Glass in this piece. I love how Adams finds both the beauty and dissonance of 20th century music - and Kim is a perfect choice as Madame Mao.

[steakopera]

Music is pretty bad.

[FidelioRoo]

Peter Sellars's/Kathleen Kim's Madame Mao summed up in a single emoticon: >:C

[DoubleNickels]

The most aggressive soprano I've ever heard in my life. Thank you so much for showing that you can have balls in the upper registers.

[jj8585]

She was definitely AMAZING! This aria was the highlight of the opera for me!

[kaustin6969]

Run, don't walk to see the rebroadcast!

Can't wait for the DVD!!

[DavidARowland]

She was a Gang of One.

[FidelioRoo]

Kathleen Kim was appropriately terrifying as Madame Mao.

[SsteinwayS]

Wow! This is such a great aria! And she looks the part too! :P

[meriomeri]

OMG. She was so amazing last night!

[sharky123]

She rocked it last night! The final note of this aria was off the charts crazy good and yes, brought down the house!

[supergreek25]

I'm not a huge fan of her instrument, but she brought the house down on opening night with this. No one even breathed this entire aria.

She's came out of no where like a ninja. holy GOD. go see this if you can.

[bmh4d0k3n]

LOVE this aria. Can't wait for the broadcast!

[TheTerryE]

She finally found a role she's good in -- she was AWFUL in Tales of Hoffmann 2 years ago.

[Chrisanthimum]

I was there!!!! She was amazing!

[philipglassfan]

YES

[leonardbuschel]

I drove to SF from LA to see Dr. Atomic. It was dreadfully boring and uninteresting.

This looks great. I'll be there at 10AM with a thermos of chinese tea.

[yk1221]

you rock kathleen!

[iluvviolin356]

I loved "Doctor Atomic"--I can't wait to listen to this on the radio in about a week and a half.

[kph11863]

I cannot wait to see the HD of this. It can already tell that it is going to absolutely rock!!