Nixon in China, the brainchild not just of John and Alice but of the original director, Peter Sellars, was the first of the “CNN operas” during the 1980s and 90s, so named because they were based on events that seemed to be taken directly from news headlines. “It’s an awesome, awesome piece,” says stage director Michael Cavanagh, whose work was last seen here when the Lyric performed The Rake’s Progress in 2001. “For an opera to be called great it has to have layers: It has to be more than just great music, more than a great libretto, more than just a great subject matter. It has to have some kind of alchemic combination of all of them – plus a little extra. This piece has it like few others.”

Nixon was the result of rigorous research into historical events, but it takes that understanding a step further, Michael says. “Factuality is a jumping-off point. It’s there – there is a documentary feeling to some aspects of the opera. In our production, we represent several very real moments of the historical events: The banquet looks just like it did, and the airfield includes a full-scale model of Air Force One, or as much as you can fit on the stage.” But gradually this verisimilitude becomes more diffuse, he says. “As the opera progresses, each scene evolves and veers off into more of a poetic representation of what happened than a documentary one. … As the piece goes on, this combination of documentary elements and poetry tips in balance: It starts as 80-20 and by the end of it it’s 20-80.” Alice could have simply transcribed what the characters said to each other, he adds, “because it’s all a part of public record. But that would have been an extremely boring evening in the theater.”

We frequently see politicians on television saying what is expected of them as public figures, says soprano Maria Kanyova, who sings the role of Pat Nixon in this production. “But we generally don’t get to know who they are or what their thoughts are. And yet we know that they are just human beings. You never hear, hmm, I wonder what they were thinking at that banquet, what was going on in their minds?” The final aria by Chou En-lai, in particular, leaves everything open-ended, she adds “Nothing is ever resolved: It leaves us hanging. Nothing is ever answered in history. We don’t have peace yet: We don’t have the things that they strived for on this trip. … Nixon is a very thought-provoking piece.”

Nixon in China tells the story of Dick and Pat and Henry Kissinger visiting Mao, his wife and Chou En-lai, and it includes scenes of both official events and private moments. Act 2 includes a bracing theatrical presentation – choreographed here by the Kansas City Ballet’s William Whitener – that is like a contemporary Chinese ballet. The production is a central part of the Lyric Opera’s first season in the new Kauffman Center, and its scale – it was originally created for Vancouver opera – is such that it would have been unthinkable in a smaller venue. (How often to you see a jet plane on an opera stage?)

James, who has been singing the role of Nixon for 25 years (and who created the title role here in Kirke Mechem’s John Brown), says he and his colleagues in Houston knew they were onto something in 1987, even though not all critics (or members of the public) were quite sure. “I knew we were making history. I was just so proud to be working with this caliber of people,” he says. “It was a very special time. … I felt we were doing something important.” For artistic director Ward Holmquist, who took part in the original production, Nixon is a long-held dream come true for Kansas City. “The passion that both (general director) Evan Luskinand I have for this modern American work compels us to present it at this seminal moment in our Company’s artistic evolution,” he says. “The technical requirements of this production made it impossible for us to contemplate performing this work before now, but the capabilities of the Muriel Kauffman Theatre enable us to present it with many special visual effects.”

The production also stars Richard Paul Fink as Kissinger, Alan Woodrow as Mao, Audrey Luna as Chiang Ch’ing (Madame Mao), and Daniel Belcher as Chou En-lai. The scenic design is by Erhard Rom. Ward will conduct the Kansas City Symphony in one of the most challenging opera scores in recent years. (It is written in the shimmering minimalist language that has become John’s signature style, and both orchestra and singers are amplified as per the composer’s instructions.) “It treats big themes in a big way,” Michael says. “That’s what opera does: It gives voice to these big glorified emotions, these big historical occasions. Opera does epic best, and this is nothing if not an epic opera.”

The Lyric Opera’s production of Nixon in China runs from March 10^th through the 18^th at the Kauffman Center. For tickets see kcopera.org or call 816-471-7344.

To reach Paul Horsley, send email to phorsley@sbcglobal.net.