Nixon in China (complete opera)
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JOHN ADAMS
Nixon in China (complete opera)
Robert Orth, Maria Kanyova, Thomas Hammons, Marc Heller, Tracy Dahl / Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop
[ Naxos Opera / 3 CD Box Set ]
Release Date: Tuesday 10 November 2009
This item is currently out of stock. It may take 6 or more weeks to obtain from when you place your order as this is a specialist product.
MARBECKS STAFF PICK: CD OF THE YEAR 2009
"(Alsop) leads the score with grand sweep and understanding, and her Colorado forces bring out its colors vividly; moreover, she inspires her cast to sing as if they're having a great time with this no-longer-new but still odd opera." (10/10 ClassicsToday Oct 2009)
A longtime collaborator of John Adams and champion of his music, Marin Alsop directs this live recording of Opera Colorado's 25th Anniversary Celebration production of Nixon in China, presented at Denver's new Ellie Caulkins Opera House during the 2008 National Performing Arts Convention, and featuring an internationally recognized cast. Alice Goodman's epic libretto and John Adams's distinctive music weave together a colorful fabric of actual events from President Nixon's historic visit to the People's Republic of China with intimate examinations of the opera's real life characters. The spectacle, drama, humor and pathos of this masterpiece remain as compelling today as when the opera was premièred in 1987.
MARBECKS STAFF PICK: CD OF THE YEAR 2009
"This new recording, taken from a live performance at Denver's Ellie Caulkins Opera House in June, 2008, is brilliant. It is sonically way ahead of the Nonesuch (which was recorded at a very low level), thus making it possible to understand almost every word, and Marin Alsop's tempos are slightly slower than Edo de Waart's, which also helps comprehension. She leads the score with grand sweep and understanding, and her Colorado forces bring out its colors vividly; moreover, she inspires her cast to sing as if they're having a great time with this no-longer-new but still odd opera.
Robert Orth's Nixon has just the right amount of self-parody that "playing" Nixon requires--the distance between 1987 and now is very long and we can sense ironies from our vantage point that we were blind to then. Maria Kanyova's Pat also seems more sympathetic while remaining as publicly simple as she always was, and Kanyova's voice and diction are splendid. Marc Heller handles Mao's high tessitura, sometimes bordering on madness, with great character and flavor. Chen-Ye Yuan's Chou is beautifully sung and he captures both the character's joylessness and intelligence. Thomas Hammons (also on the Nonesuch recording) uses his dark, growling bass to show us everything we need to know about the cynical Kissinger, and Tracy Dahl, as Madame Mao, is pretty frightening, even while delivering her Queen of the Night-like aria."
(10 / 10 ClassicsToday Oct 2009)
Tracks:
Disc 1: Act I
Dics 2: Act II
Disc 3: Act III
Total running time: 2:33:52
