Nixon in China

Approximate running time 3 hrs. 40 min.

Intermission Schedule:
8:00 pm performances: At approximately 9:12 pm and 10:35 pm
1:00 pm performances: At approximately 2:12 pm and 3:35 pm

“All of my operas have dealt on deep psychological levels with our American mythology,” says Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Adams, whose most famous opera has its Met premiere. “The meeting of Nixon and Mao is a mythological moment in world history, particularly American history.” Acclaimed director and longtime Adams collaborator Peter Sellars makes his Met debut with this groundbreaking 1987 work, an exploration of the human truths beyond the headlines surrounding President Nixon’s historic 1972 encounter with Mao and Communist China. Baritone James Maddalena stars as Nixon, a role he created to widespread acclaim. Nixon in China, Sellars says, “shows you what opera can do to history, which is to deepen it and move into its more subtle, nuanced, and mysterious corners.”

This production was originally created by English National Opera.

The production of Nixon in China contains some adult content that may not be appropriate for young children.

Synopsis