Metropolitan Opera baritone Kang Ju-won makes his Washington National Opera (WNO) debut. He sings Zhou Enlai in John Adams's "Nixon in China," running from Nov. 14 at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington. Korean American soprano Kathleen Kim sings Madame Mao, while Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson play the Nixons.
Metropolitan Opera baritone Kang Ju-won will appear for the first time on the Washington National Opera (WNO) stage. Kang sings the role of Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in John Adams's opera "Nixon in China" on Saturday, Nov. 14, Thursday, Nov. 19, and Saturday, Nov. 21, at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC.
Korean American soprano Kathleen Kim appears as Madame Mao (Jiang Qing), the wife of Mao Zedong. The two Korean-born singers will thus share the same opera stage in Washington.
On Stage With Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson
"Nixon in China" is based on President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China. Since its premiere in Houston in 1987, it has become a classic of contemporary opera. This is the first time WNO is staging the work. Renowned soprano Renée Fleming sings Pat Nixon, and baritone Thomas Hampson sings Richard Nixon. John Matthew Myers sings Mao Zedong, and Robert Pomakov sings Henry Kissinger. Robert Spano conducts, and Elkhanah Pulitzer directs.
WNO is using DAR Constitution Hall as its venue this season. It is the company's first season since leaving the Kennedy Center, its home for many years, earlier this year, and "Nixon in China" is one of the productions opening the season. The staging has also drawn attention because an opera about a moment of U.S.-China rapprochement is being performed in Washington just after the midterm elections, at a time when U.S.-China tensions have deepened again.
A Second Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai is not a new role for Kang. He previously sang the same part in "Nixon in China" with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by the composer, John Adams, himself. With his Washington debut, he plays Zhou Enlai for the second time on a major U.S. stage.
"It is meaningful to play again, on the Washington stage, the Zhou Enlai I first met under the composer's own baton. Because he is a real historical figure, I focus even more on the character's deep inner struggle. The greatest joy of performing this work is that the music becomes a bridge connecting history and the present, and that together with the audience we can look at these events as a new beginning." — Baritone Kang Ju-won
Five Years Since Met Debut, Moving Between Korea and the U.S.
Kang graduated from Yonsei University's vocal department and completed his master's degree at the Manhattan School of Music on a scholarship. He went through San Francisco Opera's Merola Opera Program and Adler Fellowship, and has won the Grand Prize and Audience Prize at the McKeeman Competition, as well as prizes at the Viñas, Gari and Palm Beach international competitions.
He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2021 as Marcello in "La Bohème" and returned to the Met stage as Ping in "Turandot." He has sung leading roles at opera houses across the U.S., including the title role in Seattle Opera's "Eugene Onegin," a dual role in San Francisco Opera's world premiere of "The Monkey King" (2025), and Germont in Detroit Opera's "La Traviata." He has also expanded his stage work through a performance with the Boston Symphony and a recital at Carnegie Hall.
In Korea, he has performed as Count di Luna in Korean National Opera's "Il Trovatore" (2024), in the original opera "Soul Mate," and in the title role of "Elijah" with the Anyang Municipal Chorus. Next April, he will sing Germont again in Austin Opera's "La Traviata."