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Pomp meets ping-pong: Nixon in China lands again in Paris

Thomas Hampson (Richard Nixon), Renée Fleming (Pat Nixon) and Xiaomeng Zhang (Chou En-lai)
© Vincent Pontet | Opéra national de Paris
Nixon in China
© Vincent Pontet | Opéra national de Paris
Nixon in China
© Vincent Pontet | Opéra national de Paris
Renée Fleming (Pat Nixon) and dragon dancers
© Vincent Pontet | Opéra national de Paris
John Matthew Myers (Mao) and Caroline Wettergreen (Madame Mao)
© Vincent Pontet | Opéra national de Paris
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“a splendidly poetic evocation of the general weirdness of the personalities involved”
Reviewed at Opéra national de Paris: Opéra Bastille, Paris on 14 March 2026
Adams, Nixon in China
Kent Nagano, Conductor
Valentina Carrasco, Director
Carles Berga, Set Designer
Silvia Aymonino, Costume Designer
Peter van Praet, Lighting Designer
Orchestre de l'Opéra national de Paris
Chœurs de l'Opéra national de Paris
Thomas Hampson, Richard Nixon
Renée Fleming, Pat Nixon
Xiaomeng Zhang, Chou En-lai
John Matthew Myers, Mao Zedong
Caroline Wettergreen, Madame Mao, Chiang Ch'ing
Joshua Bloom, Henry Kissinger
Aebh Kelly, Nancy Tang (First Secretary)
Ning Liang, Second Secretary
Emanuela Pascu, Third Secretary
Thomas Adès’ high-flying Exterminating Angel in Paris
*****
Shock and awe in Paris with Bernstein's A Quiet Place
*****
A long road to nowhere for Igor at the Bastille
***11
Les Indes galantes: with Alarcón, Rameau conquers the Bastille
*****
Don Giovanni according to Ivo van Hove: a puritan despite himself?
***11
Carthage carnage: Tcherniakov's Trojans flops at the Bastille
**111
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