Nixon in China review - slick update for tale of Tricky Dicky`s schmoozing
(The Guardian China)

Theatre Royal, Glasgow Scottish Opera brings an inventive postmodern eye to its revival of John Adams´s retelling of Nixon´s 1972 state visitFrom Greek myths to kings and queens, opera has long looked to the past for inspiration. Superficially, Nixon in China is no different, but scratch the surface and John Adams´s opera is concerned not so much with the who-said-and-did-what of the historical event in question - Nixon´s diplomatic visit to the People´s Republic in 1972 - but with the very idea of how history is created.John Fulljames´s slick and inventive production for Scottish Opera takes this idea very literally indeed. The staging - a co-production with the Royal Danish Theatre and Teatro Real Madrid, originally performed in Copenhagen last year - is a museum piece. Or rather an archive piece, as Dick Bird´s sets place the action in the Chinese state archives, all towering shelves of anonymous brown boxes containing a wealth of historical information. Continue reading...