Yesterday I went to see the opera “Nixon in China” at Kinepolis in Antwerp. Via a new concept of “Opera in the Cinema” the opea was live broadcasted from the New York Metropolitain Opera.

“Nixon in China” by composer John Adams and directed by Peter Sellars is considered one of the cornerstones of American minimalist music. It depicts the visit of the US president Richard Nixon and his wife Pat Nixon and his advisor Henry Kissinger to China in 1972 to meet China’s iconic chairman Mao Zedong, his wife Jiang Qing and prime-minister Chou En-Lai, and also illustrates the influence this event had on all these characters.

With this trip, Nixon became the first US president to visit mainland China while in office. This trip was Nixon’s opening to China, but actually designed to put pressure on the USSR (click here), bringing about an enormously important shift in the Cold War balance. It enabled the Americans to concentrate their military power in Europe, while the Soviets were confronted by adversaries East and West, now working together against Moscow. The trip was a succes because soon after the USSR was forced to negociate and within three months they signed two arms control agreements.

One of my favourite scenes was in the first act, where Nixon arrives with the presidential plane. Apparently, on the president’s instructions, television journalists were strongly favoured for this trip, as they would better capture “dramatic” images of the trip. For eight days the American audience would be able to wittness a spectacular parade of images from China, the first they had seen in more than twenty years!

Nixon’s flair for diplomacy and drama is very clear in this scène. Nixon told Kissinger that he and all other people on the plane were to stay there until he had descended the gangway and shaken prime-minister Chou En-lai’s hand. As added insurance, a Secret Service agent blocked the aisle of Air Force One to make sure the president emerged alone. In the opera, just as Nixon and his wife have descened you see Kissinger peeping out very short from the door of the airplane.

During the break there were also interviews with the cast, performers, composer and director Peter Sellars. I loved his final quote: “What a great day to perform Nixon in China, when yesterday we have all got the fantastic news that Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak resigns!”

More info on the opera, click here.

.