Music from "Nixon in China"

  • 971048

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    "John’s music is about promise and progress," Julia Bullock writes in her note in the new 40-disc box set John Adams Collected Works. "It comments on the inherent threat of exploiting power while embodying it. There’s fire and fragility, placed alongside organized form and frequency. I love John’s music. I love singing it, learning from it. And I love listening to it." You can read her complete note from the box set here.

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    "My friendship is with the private John," Nonesuch’s longtime President and current Chairman Emeritus Bob Hurwitz writes in the new 40-disc box set John Adams Collected Works, "but it is never far from my mind that I am with the man who wrote Doctor Atomic and Nixon in China, Harmonielehre and Naive and Sentimental Music, Scheherazade.2 and Shaker Loops." You can read his complete note from the box set here.

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  • About This Album

    Adams describes this landmark work as “part epic, part satire, part parody of political posturing, and part serious examination of historical, philosophical, and even gender issues.” The Boston Globe called it “a milestone in American operatic history.” This collection contains highlights from the Grammy-winning 1987 recording.

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Cast (in order of appearance):
    Chou En-Lai: Sanford Sylvan
    Richard Nixon: James Maddalena
    Henry Kissinger: Thomas Hammons
    Nancy T’ang (First Secretary to Mao): Mari Opatz
    Second Secretary to Mao: Stephanie Friedman
    Third Secretary to Mao: Marion Dry
    Mao Tse-Tung: John Duykers
    Pat Nixon: Carolann Page
    Chiang Ch’in (Madame Mao Tse-Tung): Trudy Ellen Craney

    Orchestra of St. Luke’s
    Edo de Waart, conductor
    Michael Feldman, artistic director
    Louise Schulman, associate music director
    Howard Jang, production manager
    Violin: Mayuki Fukuhara, Amy Hiraga, Mineko Yajima, Anca Nicolau
    Viola: Louise Schulman, Jennie Hansen, Stephanie Fricker
    Cello: Maxine Neuman, co-principal; Myron Lutzke, Rosalyn Clarke, Karl Bennion
    Bass: John T. Kulowitsch, John Feeney
    Flute/Piccolo: Timothy Malosh, Sheryl Henze
    Oboe: Stephen Taylor
    Oboe / English Horn: Melanie Feld
    Clarinet / E-Flat Clarinet: William Blount
    Clarinet / Bass Clarinet: David Stanton, Gerhardt Koch
    Saxophone: Lawrence Feldman, Ted Nash, Albert Regni, Roger Rosenberg
    Trumpet: Chris Gekker, Carl Albach, Susan Radcliffe
    Trombone: Michael Powell, Kenneth Finn, John Rojak
    Percussion: Randall Maz
    Yamaha HX-1 Synthesizer: John McGinn
    Piano: Edmund Niemann, Martin Goldray

    Chorus
    Conoley E. Ballard Jr., chorus master
    Jacqueline Pierce, chorus contractor
    Soprano: Judy Berry, Sharon Daniels, Karen Grahn, Dana Hancard, Lorraine Kelley, Michele McBride
    Alto: Patty Davis, Jay Ann Lee, Karen Leigh, Mary Runyan Marathe, Ruth Porter, Barbara Rearick
    Tenor: James Bassi, Rodne Brown, Mukund Marathe, Edgar Moore, Martin Pierce
    Bass: Roger Andrews, Christopher Arneson, Frank Curtis, Leslie Dorsey, Joseph Shockler, Todd Thomas

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    The premiere performances of Nixon in China took place at the Houston Grand Opera (October 22–November 7, 1987), the Brooklyn Academy of Music (December 4–17, 1987), The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (March 26–April 5, 1988), and The Netherlands Opera (June 2–18, 1988).
    Music by John Adams
    Libretto by Alice Goodman
    Peter Sellars, director
    Mark Morris, choreography
    Adrianne Lobel, set design
    Dunya Ramicova, costume design
    James F. Ingalls, lighting design

    FIRST RECORDING
    Produced by Wilhelm Hellweg
    Recorded December 1987 at RCA Studio A, New York City
    Balance Engineer: John Newton
    Assistant Recording Engineer / Tape Editor: Henk Kooistra
    Mixed January 1988 at Soundmirror, Jamaica Plain, MA
    Production Assistant: Jennifer Keats

    Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

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nonesuch's picture
Submitted by nonesuch
on June 9, 2009 - 12:42pm
genre: 
New Music
Release Date: 
Tuesday, November 22, 1988 (All day)
DescriptionExcerpt: 

Adams describes this landmark work as “part epic, part satire, part parody of political posturing, and part serious examination of historical, philosophical, and even gender issues.” The Boston Globe called it “a milestone in American operatic history.” This collection contains highlights from the Grammy-winning 1987 recording.

Description: 

Adams describes this landmark work as “part epic, part satire, part parody of political posturing, and part serious examination of historical, philosophical, and even gender issues.” The Boston Globe called it “a milestone in American operatic history.” This collection contains highlights from the Grammy-winning 1987 recording.

ProductionCredits: 

PRODUCTION CREDITS
The premiere performances of Nixon in China took place at the Houston Grand Opera (October 22–November 7, 1987), the Brooklyn Academy of Music (December 4–17, 1987), The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (March 26–April 5, 1988), and The Netherlands Opera (June 2–18, 1988).
Music by John Adams
Libretto by Alice Goodman
Peter Sellars, director
Mark Morris, choreography
Adrianne Lobel, set design
Dunya Ramicova, costume design
James F. Ingalls, lighting design

FIRST RECORDING
Produced by Wilhelm Hellweg
Recorded December 1987 at RCA Studio A, New York City
Balance Engineer: John Newton
Assistant Recording Engineer / Tape Editor: Henk Kooistra
Mixed January 1988 at Soundmirror, Jamaica Plain, MA
Production Assistant: Jennifer Keats

Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

Cover Art: 
Nonesuch Selection Number: 

971048

Number of Discs in Set: 
1disc
Album Status: 
Available
UPC/Price: 
Label: 
MP3
UPC: 
603497104864
Price: 
9.00
Artist Name: 
John Adams
MusicianDetails: 

MUSICIANS
Cast (in order of appearance):
Chou En-Lai: Sanford Sylvan
Richard Nixon: James Maddalena
Henry Kissinger: Thomas Hammons
Nancy T’ang (First Secretary to Mao): Mari Opatz
Second Secretary to Mao: Stephanie Friedman
Third Secretary to Mao: Marion Dry
Mao Tse-Tung: John Duykers
Pat Nixon: Carolann Page
Chiang Ch’in (Madame Mao Tse-Tung): Trudy Ellen Craney

Orchestra of St. Luke’s
Edo de Waart, conductor
Michael Feldman, artistic director
Louise Schulman, associate music director
Howard Jang, production manager
Violin: Mayuki Fukuhara, Amy Hiraga, Mineko Yajima, Anca Nicolau
Viola: Louise Schulman, Jennie Hansen, Stephanie Fricker
Cello: Maxine Neuman, co-principal; Myron Lutzke, Rosalyn Clarke, Karl Bennion
Bass: John T. Kulowitsch, John Feeney
Flute/Piccolo: Timothy Malosh, Sheryl Henze
Oboe: Stephen Taylor
Oboe / English Horn: Melanie Feld
Clarinet / E-Flat Clarinet: William Blount
Clarinet / Bass Clarinet: David Stanton, Gerhardt Koch
Saxophone: Lawrence Feldman, Ted Nash, Albert Regni, Roger Rosenberg
Trumpet: Chris Gekker, Carl Albach, Susan Radcliffe
Trombone: Michael Powell, Kenneth Finn, John Rojak
Percussion: Randall Maz
Yamaha HX-1 Synthesizer: John McGinn
Piano: Edmund Niemann, Martin Goldray

Chorus
Conoley E. Ballard Jr., chorus master
Jacqueline Pierce, chorus contractor
Soprano: Judy Berry, Sharon Daniels, Karen Grahn, Dana Hancard, Lorraine Kelley, Michele McBride
Alto: Patty Davis, Jay Ann Lee, Karen Leigh, Mary Runyan Marathe, Ruth Porter, Barbara Rearick
Tenor: James Bassi, Rodne Brown, Mukund Marathe, Edgar Moore, Martin Pierce
Bass: Roger Andrews, Christopher Arneson, Frank Curtis, Leslie Dorsey, Joseph Shockler, Todd Thomas

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