Sumi Jo singing the demanding coloratura aria: “I am the wife of Mao tse Dung”. Photo: Marie-Noëlle Robert

PARIS: Theatre du Chatelet still shows the way!

In 2012 we had the pleasure of John Adams great opera Nixon in China at Theatre du Chatelet in an extraordinary production, with an outstanding cast.

I am happy to say that Mezzo TV was present and took all the performance for broadcasting later, and tonight saturday 11.01. We had it two times on Mezze, with an other highlight Verdis Don Carlos from the Scala Opera in Milano, conducted by Daniel Gatti between them. I feel privilliged. – By the way this Milano Don Carlos version is visually not as good as the Oslo version, which is a co production with Coventt Garden in London and the Metropolitan in NY. Oslo is privilliged to have such a good Don Carlos stored.

This gives us the possibibilty to repeat Henning Høholts review from the premeiere evening of Nixon in China once again. – He felt that the performance was even better in TV because of the close up pictures, and perhaps also that he felt the music more well known.

Presented by Tomas Bagackas.

The following review by Henning Høholt. Photos Marie-Noëlle Robert.

NIXON IN CHINA – John Adams – Chatelet

This time with the premiere of John Adams first, and perhaps his most wellknown  opera: Nixon in China. mostly wellknown bacause the history it is based on is of world interest, as Nixon through his visit opened the “western” arms towards China, by his, together with his wife Pat Nixonand foreign minster Henry Kissingers  meetings with chairmann Mao, Maos wife, and premier minister Chou en Lai. This was a sensation, and the medias loved  it, and so did Nixon, as he through the media and its developements and attention got all the world to follow him, and made him even more famouse. The performances went on in April at the Theatre du Chatelet.

Pat Nixon (June Anderson), Nixon (Franco Pomponi), Madame Mao (Sumi Jo), 3 secrétaires (Sophie Leleu, Alexandra Sherman, Rebecca de Pont Davies). Photo: Marie-Noëlle Robert-Théâtre du Châtelet

Review by Henning Høholt 

Photos: Marie-Noëlle Robert and Margaretta Mitchell, the photo of John Adams.

As my referances I am using the world premiere at the Houston Opera in 1987, and also partly the Metropolitan Opera production, New York. Both productions well kown through You Tube at the internet.

John Adams is using a minimalistic background music for the opera,  opening with an oppgoing melody line consisting of eight  half tunes which is being repeated, and after a while changed to different kinds of “pling plong”which repititively are going on more or less non stop, as the background for quite good long singing lines, which are being very well sung by the cast, headed by Franco Pomponi as president Nixon, June Anderson as Pat Nixon, Peter Sidhorn (very anonyme) as Henry Kissinger, and the outstanding tenor Alfred Kim outstanding as chairman Mao tse Dung, the brilliant colorature soprano Sumi Jo as Jiang Qing (mrs Mao), and Kuung Chun Kim  as Chou en Lai. In additon the three secretarys of Mao deserveds to be mentioned: Sophie Leieu, Alexandra Sherman and Rebecca de Pont Davies, as secretari no 1

. 2. and 3.

(from left): Alfred Kim (Mao), Franco Pomponi (Richard Nixon), Sophie Leleu, Alexandra Sherman, Rebecca de Pont Davies (the three secrétaires de Mao) Photo: Marie-Noëlle Robert.

The Chatelet choir is doing an excellent job, it s clear that there has been a very good rehearsing work, to get this to hang together, and it is succeeded. In the ouverture theproduction presents a picture presentation from Chna (to the left), and America (to the right) at the screen, which help the audience, to get in to the right time of when the prodution is going on, and to understand more about the large basic differences between the two nations, and between th east and the west
. It leads us in to the opening choire session, where people are gattering together to welcome Nixon and his followers at the airport in Beijing.

Unfortunately, allready in the welcoming scene, the regisseur Chen Shi-Zhengis missing some of the details,  which is laying in the text and in fact also in the music, where the welcoming could have  beenw extraordinay elegant. But in this version they are only letting Nixon sing his demaning opening aria about hwow importent this meeting is as a mediaevent, when his wife is shakng hands with the clebrityes present. This is not how it happens. But that is the privillige that the staging director can permit them self to do, but then loosing  some good points, forming Nixons figure in the piece. Which for me is importent.

John Adams, Photo: Margaretta Mitchell

After a too long sequence with a meeting between the president and chairman Mao, where Mao is most interested in presenting his ideologic ideas, and not want to discuss politic and human wrights.

After the break we are going in to culture business, where Pat Nixon, splendid sung by June Anderson, are visiting museums, monuments, and people, and of course groupscwith school childrens waiw ing flags. Unfortunately the scenographc solutions dont help us to understand the places these visits are  going to. In the end a visit to a theatre performing revolutionaere theatre, hosted by Jiang Quing, Mrs Mao, what Mrs. Nixon is getting bad imressions from, and it ends up negative. During this part Sumi Jo in the role as Jiang  Qing is singing her famous coloratura aria “I am the wife of Mao tse Dung” which is one of the absolute bighlhts of this opera, and she doesnt very good. It is an aria in the famil with the Queen of the Night arias from The Magic Flute, and i have a feeling that John Adams also has gonspration from Mozart to this.

The last part shows the work with an impressive statue of Mao, and some private meetings between Mr and MrS. Mao and Mr. and Mrs. Nixon, where Chou en Lai is alone telling his own lonely history. In the demanding dance parts we enjoyed the ballet, and their two soloists Hai Wen Hsu and Salom Sobishi.

Photo: Marie-Noëlle Robert

Good formed regi and effective choreography by Chen Shi-Zheng, costumes Petra Reinhardt, I liked that she has keept the colours as if we were in China, but had made them stronger sothey matched the uptodate feeling of the performanec, and sometimes it became deliciouse colour combinations with the main figures in clear colours, scenography Shilpa Gupta, light by Alexander Koppelmann. The Paris Chamber Orchestra, which after a feeling start,  to come in to the repitive mood was a good orchestra. the Chatelet Choir was outstanding, leaded by Stephen Betteridge, it was all Conducted by Alexander Briger.

El Nino

It is the second time that Theatre du Chatelet is presenting a big John Adams work for its audience. Last time was in 2000, when El Nino had its world premiere in the house. El Nino is an oratorioo on the theme of the Nativity combining texts from (mainly) South American poets and extracts from the Bible.