John Adams Nixon in China

Besides the landing on the moon by the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 Richard Nixons meeting with Chinas leader Mao Zedong in February 1972 then represented one of the biggest media spectacles in history Nixon himself established the reference between the two events We came in peace for all mankind not only marked the lunar module Eagles landing spot Nixon also spoke of it into the microphones just before his departure to China It was not John Adams aim to create a superficial or even a caricaturing representation of Nixons visit when composing his opera He attempted to create a heroic opera about the construction of modern myths by using archetypical characters and situations Director Marco Štorman stages Adams minimal music opera as a deconstruction review about the power of images the politics of staging and the staging of politics