Minimalism and Postmodernism in John Adams' opera Nixon in China

The subject of the study is the opera by composer John Adams "Nixon in China". This opera is written in the style of musical minimalism in the context of postmodern trends. "Nixon in China" is the first documentary opera based on the genre of reportage. On the example of the opera "Nixon in China", the peculiarities of the functioning of the opera genre in the postmodern era are clearly manifested. In "Nixon in China", the culture of performance is combined with the traditions of the bolshoi opera, refracted in the light of the spiritual quest of music of the second half of the XX century. The social problems of the opera conceal a number of philosophical issues related to the fate of the individual and the state. The main conclusions of the study are the provisions on the combination of minimalism, grand opera and postmodernism in "Nixon in China". It is determined that minimalism in the musical language is manifested in the meditativeness of the musical image, the use of patterns of development of musical material enriched with harmonic movement. Postmodernism expressed itself in intertextuality, performance culture, eclecticism and in the peculiarities of the genre nature of opera. The basis for the opera was the genre of news reporting. The vocal characteristics of the heroes have a cross-cutting development in the direction from the external diplomatic appearance to internal experiences, against the background of which philosophical questions are raised about the uncertainty of the fate of the state and the role of the individual in history.