More about Nixon In China

Opera is mostly about music, of course, and what I find so compelling about Adams' music here is that from its first notes it is both lyrical and suspenseful. There's a suggestion of dread, of impending doom, throughout the opera, the libretto in summary at the end when Chou sings, Did we do any good? This suspense, lyricism, dread is the musical theme I hear, varied for characters but something the score constantly returns to.

A highlight of the Met production, esp in comparison to the Pdx production, is the choreography. We loved it. And Madam Mao's rousing number almost knocked me out of my seat -- I didn't get this reaction at all in the Pdx production, and I think some of this was from the choreography, the dancing.

The Met opera left me in breathless admiration. I wish they hadn't turned Kissinger into such a caricature, it keeps the opera from being greater. This is a problem in the libretto, however, not the production -- as opposed to the American flag prop in the Mahagonny I saw in L.A., which almost ruined an otherwise strong production, a cheap shot by the director in this case. Mahagonny remains my favorite opera.  You cannot help a dead man.