Thursday, February 7, 2013

Nixon in China: An Opera From 1987.

Nixon shakes hands with Zhou Enlai, February 21, 1972. During the Geneva Conference in 1954, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles refused to shake Zhou Enlai’s hand. Knowing of this rebuff, President Nixon made a point of shaking Zhou Enlai’s hand upon landing in China. White House photo by Byron Schumaker. Wikipedia.

Nixon in China. Houston Grand Opera, October 22, 1987. Music by John Adams. Libretto by Alice Goodman. Directed by Peter Sellars. Complete Opera. Video in 17 parts, January 26, 2010. YouTube. Libretto.

Act 1, Scene 2: Meeting with Mao. Video with historical footage, September 3, 2012. YouTube.