Nixon in China is an opera in three acts by John Adams with a libretto by Alice Goodman. Adams's first opera, it was inspired by U.S. president Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to the People's Republic of China. The work premiered at the Houston Grand Opera on October 22, 1987, in a production by Peter Sellars with choreography by Mark Morris. When Sellars approached Adams with the idea for the opera in 1983, Adams was initially reluctant, but eventually decided that the work could be a study in how myths come to be, and accepted the project. Goodman's libretto was the result of considerable research into Nixon's visit, though she disregarded most sources published after the 1972 trip.
Richard Nixon (right) meets Mao Zedong, February 1972
Richard and Pat Nixon descend the steps outside the Spirit of '76, February 21, 1972.
John Adams, composer, 2008
Pat Nixon is conducted on a tour of Peking, February 23, 1972.
The Red Detachment of Women is a Chinese ballet which premiered in 1964 and was made one of the Eight Model Operas which dominated the national stage during the Cultural Revolution.
The Red Detachment of Women. Soldiers of the Women's Detachment performing rifle drill in Act II, from the 1972 National Ballet of China production.
Panel discussion on the Red Detachment of Women on 11 November 2012 at Freer Gallery with Dr. Carma Hinton (left), Dr. Chi Wang (right)