Nixon in China
Opera by John Adams, Libretto by Alice Goodman, 1987
Chou En-lai’s line, “We were just boys,” strips away the myth of political power, transforming Nixon in China into a story about vulnerability, performance, and the longing for connection — themes rooted in childhood. The opera reimagines Nixon’s 1972 visit to China with childlike elements, such as Nixon stepping off a cardboard airplane with a toy briefcase, and Chinese officials awkwardly mimicking adult behavior. In The Red Detachment of Women, a puppet show performed by children dressed as soldiers highlights the mindless mimicry of ideologies. Framing the opera with children underscores the absurdity and pain of political posturing, revealing the emotional truths beneath the rituals of diplomacy. This childlike framework intensifies the opera’s theatricality, exposing the loneliness and fragility of power.
