# Who is going to see Nixon in China this Saturday?



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

It's on Met in HD. I'm going, but I'm afraid it will be boring.


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## the_emptier (Jan 27, 2011)

I'll be listening to it on the radio


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

No real interest in seeing it, especially since the singers are amplified. The NYT review made it sound rather mediocre.


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## Meaghan (Jul 31, 2010)

I love Nixon in China, though I don't know anything about this particular production. I wish I weren't in the middle of nowhere so I could see it.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

rgz said:


> No real interest in seeing it, especially since the singers are amplified. The NYT review made it sound rather mediocre.


If it's too bad I'll leave in the middle.
Today is contemporary opera day for me... I'm currently watching Powder Her Face while I type this, and this afternoon it's Nixon in China.

I'm liking Powder Her Face more than I thought I would...


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

I've read a couple of very favorable reviews, actually. I may be underestimating Nixon in China as much as I did for Powder Her Face. Maybe I'll very well like it. We'll see. I'll report back.


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## Poppin' Fresh (Oct 24, 2009)

I think a friend of mine might be going, unfortunately I can't make it. I'd love to see it though, I do enjoy the opera. I'll be curious to see what you think of it.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

I'm listening to it on BBC Radio 3 & have to admit I'm struggling.


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## Gualtier Malde (Nov 14, 2010)

I read somewhere that this performance is directed by Peter Sellars. Need I say more...


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

I listened to most of the second act on the radio whilst doing other things, and I found it rather enjoyable.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

OK, folks, I'm back, a few hours later since I have guests staying for the weekend and I was entertaining them.

I did find it boring. The first and third acts are musically *very* boring. The second act is nice.

It's not that I don't get it. I know that Adams has a minimalistic style. I perfectly get the high quality of the libretto, with the political/public versus the psychological/private. There are many fine moments. It's an interesting work, as a stage play. It does address many issues that are important to the American way of life, and it is particularly enticing for someone who grew up here.

But truth must be said, it is boring.

The orchestration is kept to a minimum, given minimalism. It unfortunately results in many long stretches that have not much more than a background beat, with declamatory lines (by the way, the lines are interesting as far as what is being said goes) . Are there nice musical bits? Sure. But they are few and in between and can't really keep my interest.

I do think that the words are more interesting than the music, and account for a fairly intelligent stage play about world politics and the inner lives of leaders.

But musically? It's boring.

By comparison with the other contemporary opera I saw today - Adès' _Powder Her Face_ - _Nixon in China_ is the less intriguing of the two, in my opinion.

@Gualtier - Peter Sellars was extremely well behaved. There is nothing outrageous in this production. It is very conventional and subdued (which adds to the boredom).

The second act *is* rather nice. The ballet and its play inside the opera account for the best moment of this work. Given that I'm not particularly fond of operatic ballets, for a ballet to be the high point of an opera, it doesn't bode well for the capacity of this work to entertain and keep one's attention. And that's exactly the problem with this work: it is interesting, but not entertaining.

Overall, I don't think that I've wasted my afternoon. It is an important work that it is worth knowing. But I won't be listening to it or watching it again.


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## the_emptier (Jan 27, 2011)

i didn't listen to the first act but i heard the last two...

honestly i wasn't too impressed. the music literally was the same thing for almost all of the second act, it sounded more like movie or incidental music then anything. it was all arpeggios and odd meters. there were some really cool musical parts in the third act but beyond that it was really lackluster. i didn't care for the story at all either


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

I have Nixon in China on CD and it was a struggle listening to all the way to the end. I can't remember ever before listening to an opera (with libretto in hand) during which I so often looked at my watch to see how long I still had to go. I thought after my ordeal was through that I probably just wasn't in the mood, and that 'next time' my impression would be different, but it seems like other people had a similar experience with this opera. My opinion about Adam's other newspaper opera "Doctor Atomic" is very similar. There are some good moments in both, but most of it I find just boring. Maybe the interest in these works has to do with the fact that they are about recent historical figures and events. If the score of Nixon in China had been composed for a fictional story of Charlie in Finland I doubt if it would have the reputation it now enjoys.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

the_emptier said:


> i didn't listen to the first act but i heard the last two...
> 
> honestly i wasn't too impressed. the music literally was the same thing for almost all of the second act, it sounded more like movie or incidental music then anything. it was all arpeggios and odd meters. there were some really cool musical parts in the third act but beyond that it was really lackluster. i didn't care for the story at all either


That's it. Agreed.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

jhar26 said:


> I have Nixon in China on CD and it was a struggle listening to all the way to the end. I can't remember ever before listening to an opera (with libretto in hand) during which I so often looked at my watch to see how long I still had to go. I thought after my ordeal was through that I probably just wasn't in the mood, and that 'next time' my impression would be different, but it seems like other people had a similar experience with this opera. My opinion about Adam's other newspaper opera "Doctor Atomic" is very similar. There are some good moments in both, but most of it I find just boring. Maybe the interest in these works has to do with the fact that they are about recent historical figures and events. If the score of Nixon in China had been composed for a fictional story of Charlie in Finland I doubt if it would have the reputation it now enjoys.


I know what you mean. I was looking at my watch during _Nixon in China_ as well.
I was planning to watch _Doctor Atomic_ on MetPlayer; maybe I shouldn't.


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## bassClef (Oct 29, 2006)

I like to dip into it. Never tried listening all the way through.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Almaviva said:


> I know what you mean. I was looking at my watch during _Nixon in China_ as well.
> I was planning to watch _Doctor Atomic_ on MetPlayer; maybe I shouldn't.


Well, if you have a subscription anyway you may just as well check it out. It has it's moments - though they are few and far between. The aria that closes the first act for example is very good.


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## XOPERAMAN (Jun 3, 2011)

I hope to buy a dvd some time soon, does anybody know if that is coming?
until then some good quality video clips can be watched on youtube
the first recorded dvd is no longer available.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

jhar26 said:


> Well, if you have a subscription anyway you may just as well check it out. It has it's moments - though they are few and far between. The aria that closes the first act for example is very good.


I don't know if I ever told you - I watched it, and liked it a lot more than Nixon in China.


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