PRESS RELEASE:

The Metropolitan Opera's premiere production of John Adams' Nixon in China, conducted by the composer and staged by internationally acclaimed director Peter Sellars, will air on KUED June 1 at 8 p.m. The program was originally seen live in movie theaters on February 12, 2011 as part of the groundbreaking series, The Met: Live in HD, which transmits live performances to more than 1500 movie theaters and performing arts centers in 46 countries around the world.

The June 1 premiere broadcast of Nixon in China will immediately follow a new American Masters documentary about the extraordinary career of Met Music Director James Levine.

Nixon in China stars James Maddalena as Richard Nixon, a role he created at the opera's world premiere in 1987. With a libretto by American poet Alice Goodman, the opera is based on significant moments during President Nixon's visit to China in February of 1972, with the key political figures as the lead characters: Nixon, first lady Pat Nixon (Janis Kelly) and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (Richard Paul Fink) for the Americans; Chairman Mao Tse-tung (Robert Brubaker), his wife Chiang Ch'ing (Kathleen Kim), and Premier Chou En-lai (Russell Braun) for the Chinese.

The Met's production features the work of the world premiere production's design team, including set designer Adrianne Lobel, costume designer Dunya Ramicova, lighting designer James F. Ingalls, and choreographer Mark Morris. Adams, Sellars, Goodman and Morris also collaborated on the opera The Death of Klinghoffer.

Adams, who has conducted his works with many major orchestras, makes his Met debut as conductor of Nixon in China; his opera Doctor Atomic had its Met premiere in 2008 and later aired on Great Performances at the Met.

Great Performances at the Met: Nixon in China was directed for the live HD transmission by Peter Sellars and hosted by Met baritone Thomas Hampson. Jay David Saks is the music producer. The performance is sung in English with subtitles.

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