Nixon in China
There were some pretty strong opinions about "Nixon in China" last night at the opera. Here's my review. What did you think?
Photos: Phil Groshong
Maureen O'Flynn as Pat Nixon and Robert Orth as Mr. President.
Cincinnati native Thomas Hammons as Kissinger, with Chen-Ye Yuan as Chou En-lai and Mark Panuccio as Chairman Mao.
posted by Janelle Gelfand at 5:50 PM
12 Comments:
at 7/14/2007 08:49:00 AM 
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at 7/14/2007 09:14:00 AM 
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at 7/14/2007 02:04:00 PM 
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at 7/14/2007 05:18:00 PM 
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at 7/15/2007 11:09:00 AM 
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at 7/15/2007 11:34:00 AM 
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at 7/15/2007 02:05:00 PM 
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at 7/16/2007 01:52:00 PM 
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at 7/16/2007 06:42:00 PM 
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at 7/16/2007 07:09:00 PM 
Janelle Gelfand said...
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at 7/17/2007 08:52:00 AM 
Austin Chapman said...
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at 7/17/2007 09:19:00 AM 
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Post a Comment*Sorry to say, but I really thought it was a horrible opera--at least what I saw--I left toward the end of the first act...
I was fidgeting in my seat about 20 minutes into it, and by 8:50PM, I simply couldn't handle any more.
Word on my way out the door was that acts 2 and 3 were great; I simply didn't want to wait around to find out.
Brought back really bad memories of Nic Muni--I must've had some kind of relapse...
I loved it! I am so glad that the Cincinnati Opera is committed to taking the risk of doing different things like this opera.
My wife and I prefer contemporary opera and greatly enjoyed "Nixon." Not only was the quality of the orchestra's performance outstanding, but the staging inventive, and the acting revealed unexpected dimensions of familiar characters. Dance/choreography added drama and emotion to the blend. The libretto avoided cliche, though sometimes was obscure in its references and imagery. Overall, this, for us, was a compelling production. Even if one dislikes aspects of the production, it is remarkable--given the sheer quality of the performances--that a number of people walked out after the first act and some others, having stayed till the end, rushed to leave without the courtesy of applause for those who put so much into the production and performed at such a high level.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
"Even if one dislikes aspects of the production, it is remarkable--given the sheer quality of the performances--that a number of people walked out after the first act and some others, having stayed till the end, rushed to leave without the courtesy of applause for those who put so much into the production and performed at such a high level."
Well, my question to you is: why should we force ourselves to sit through an opera that we consider bad and tedious? I don't have time to waste watching productions that make me nuts. If the first 50 minutes make me want to leap off of the balcony, I am going to sit and be miserable to see if it gets better?
No, sorry, there are too many things going on to sit through bad experiments.
You know, it does occur to me: there IS a reason that classic operas are classic. I've not seen a modern opera that has been tolerable. Honestly. Dead Man Walking? Nixon in China? Let's put these to rest-----please...
This new hip movement of operas with no sets is just getting to be too much. Frankly, I'm sick of them.
To the poster from 11:09:00-
Why should you force yourself to stay? Because you've heard enough about it to give it a chance that the other acts will make the first act make more sense.
Also, since there are "too may things going on" to sit through "bad experiments," I'd love to hear how you spent the rest of your evening. I know it wasn't spent enjoying the meat and best moments of the opera.
There is a reason classic operas are classic? Yeah, because they're well over 100 years old. It's good to know that you personally relate to the strife of 19th century Italians. We should all be writing new operas about THAT!
LOL!
Yes, me and 19th century Italians are tight!
Point taken....
I enjoyed the production because of the display of enormous talent. The music was challenging in ways that 19th century opera might not be. I spoke with members of the orchestra who commented that it may have been the most difficult opera score they have played in a long while, requiring complete concentration every minute. I loved it and applaud Cincinnati Opera for its programming. There seems to be something for everyone in 2006, 2007 and 2008. I've been to more performances in the past two years than I have in the last ten.
Brava Theresa. Sometimes a company has to take a risk, or it will STAY in the 19th century, and never move forward. This opera was, after all, already 20 years old, and it has played just about everywhere but here. But as Mark Twain said...
I'm a very new opera-goer; just moved to Cincinnati last fall, and this summer has been my first chance to catch an opera. I come from a very rural area in the Deep South very far away from anything resembling opera, so this season has literally been a new experience for me. Cosi Fan Tutte was my first one (absolutely loved it). Nixon in China, then, was my second.
I can understand the divided opinions here; it was a strange or "different" opera (doubly strange for me, since opera itself is still a bit strange for me). I myself have a mixed opinion. The music was terrific; I've always relished the chance to hear any music by John Adams; the singing was good too. But I found the libretto unnecessarily dense (I might have had a different opinion of it had I had the time to sit down and read it slowly and carefully off the printed page). The staging, though delightful at times, I thought was too minimalist; it was sometimes hard to know where a character was or why he/she was there. All that said, I think there's a lot of substance to this opera; so, if I ever get a chance to see it again, I think I will.
Bravo Mark Panuccio! Your friends and fans at the Lebanon Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. We are soooo proud of you!
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