As mentioned in by Janos Gereben in the San Francisco Classical Voice, the Trinity Lyric Opera in Castro Valley, CA was going to present the Adams opera Nixon in China. However, he now reports via the OPERA-L listserv that the production may be cancelled:
Sources tell us that Boosey & Hawkes withdrew permission for the production, a highly unusual move at a time after Trinity's public announcement and most of the casting already decided. The publisher's action, which cited an error in issuing the license in the first place, makes one wonder if the composer might have denied permission.
And Gereben also points to this note by Georgia Rowe, formerly of the Contra Costa Times:
When David Gockley became music director of San Francisco Opera in 2006, one of his first promises was to present the long overdue company premiere of John Adams' "Nixon in China" at the War Memorial Opera House. It hasn't happened yet, although when I spoke to Gockley last week about the company's 2008-09 season, he said "Nixon" will be programmed in 2010.
I would of course prefer to see both productions of what is arguably Adams' greatest work...
Adams apologists who scoff at such scheming (wait, I'm an Adams apologist), musicologically-inclined contrarians who disagree with the "greatest" comment, and Republicans longing for the good ol' days of Richard Nixon are welcome to comment.
aworks: nixon in china. wikipedia: apology richard milhous nixon david gockley (hmm, no article yet).
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