Nixon and Mao to hit city stage

A scene from Nixon in China.

One of the most influential contemporary operas in the world, about two of the 20th century's biggest political figures, is coming to Auckland.

Tickets go on sale today for Nixon In China by American composer John Adams, which will headline the 2016 Auckland Arts Festival with two performances in the Town Hall on March 17 and 19.

First performed in 1987, the opera, hailed as a modern masterpiece, centres around President Richard Nixon's historic 1972 visit to China to meet political leaders Mao Zedong and Zhou En Lai, the first visit by a United States President to the communist country. It ended decades of hostility.

The production, staged in association with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and New Zealand Opera, features New Zealand tenor Simon O'Neill as Mao, and Australian baritone Barry Ryan and New Zealand soprano Madeleine Pierard as Richard and Pat Nixon. Korean soprano Hye Jun Lee will play Madame Mao.

Also on sale from today are festival tickets to The James Plays, three history cycles co-produced by the National Theatre of Scotland, the National Theatre of Great Britain and Edinburgh International Festival, which span the bloody, tumultuous reigns of James I, II and III of Scotland during the 15th century.

Written by Scottish playwright Rona Munro, the work debuted at last year's Edinburgh International Festival, followed by a run at the National Theatre in London; both seasons sold out. Timeout described the trilogy as "a high-stakes political thriller that never lets up".