Proms 2012 Prom 72: John Adams – Nixon in China - BBC Proms

5 Sep 2012, Royal Albert Hall

19:00 Wed 5 Sep 2012 Next Event

Prom 72: John Adams – Nixon in China

19:00 Wed 5 Sep 2012 Royal Albert Hall

John Adams conducts his own Nixon in China, based on the US premier’s 1972 Beijing visit, and creating the ‘docu-opera’ genre.

Programme

- - John Adams
  - Nixon in China(180 mins)semi-staged

Performers

Kathleen Kim
soprano (Madame Mao)
soprano (Madame Mao)
Alan Oke
tenor (Chairman Mao)
tenor (Chairman Mao)
Gerald Finley
bass-baritone (Chou En-Lai)
bass-baritone (Chou En-Lai)
Robert Orth
baritone (President Nixon)
baritone (President Nixon)
Jessica Rivera
soprano (Pat Nixon)
soprano (Pat Nixon)
James Rutherford
bass-baritone (Kissinger)
bass-baritone (Kissinger)
Stephanie Marshall
mezzo-soprano (Secretary)
mezzo-soprano (Secretary)
Louise Poole
mezzo-soprano (Secretary)
mezzo-soprano (Secretary)
Susan Platts
mezzo-soprano (Secretary)
mezzo-soprano (Secretary)
BBC Singers
BBC Symphony Orchestra
John Adams
conductor
conductor
Paul Curran
stage director
stage director

Composers

John Adams

About this event

Alice Goodman’s poetic, intensely original libretto is based on Richard and Pat Nixon’s historic three-day visit to China in 1972. Protagonists viewed initially as transcendent iconic figures are not so much satirised as seen for what they are.

The score pounds away eclectically with nods to Broadway and rock, Minimalism and Igor Stravinsky, but there’s no mistaking the identity of the composer, who joins us tonight, nor the colour and brilliance of one of the iconic works of our time.

There will be two intervals

Discover the Music Download a short audio guide published on the day about a key work in tonight’s Prom: Tom Service talks about John Adams's Nixon in China.