nc33/multispan_quoref huggingface dataset:
In the years following the Ancestral Puebloan's departure from Chaco Canyon, several migrations to the region occurred. During the 15th century, Navajo people emigrated to the area from northwestern Canada, and in the 18th century Spanish explorers and settlers came from the south. The Spanish investigated parts of the San Juan Basin, but there is no record of them ever finding Chaco Canyon. When cartographer Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco drew a map in 1774 of Spanish land holdings in the region, he labeled Chaco Canyon with the word Chaca, but it is unlikely he ever visited the area. In 1823 the governor of New Mexico, José Antonio Vizcarra, discovered ancient ruins in the canyon during a military campaign against the Navajo. Vizcarra's account is the first historical record of the Chacoan great houses that were "of such antiquity that their inhabitants were not known to Europeans". In 1844, Josiah Gregg made the first published reference to Chaco Canyon in his popular book, Commerce of the Prairies.
The United States started exploring the region following the Mexican–American War of 1846–48 and the acquisition of the New Mexico Territory. During a military campaign against the Navajo in 1849, Lieutenant James Simpson of the United States Army Corps of Engineers became interested in the canyon's ruins. A group led by the governor of Jemez Pueblo, Francisco Hosta, explored the canyon; its members included Simpson and the brothers Richard and Edward Kern, who were respectively an artist and a cartographer. Simpson was impressed by Chetro Ketl's masonry, which he described as "a combination of science and art which can only be referred to a higher stage of civilization and refinement than is discoverable in the works of Mexicans or Pueblos of the present day." Simpson and company documented their findings, noting the location and style of the great houses, taking measurements, and sketching the canyon's major ruins. They described the kivas as "circular apartments sunk in the ground". Simpson briefly explored Chetro Ketl, documenting six of its round rooms and 124 rooms on the ground floor of the four-story building. He noted an especially well preserved room where "the stone walls still have their plaster upon them in a tolerable state of preservation." Vivian credits Simpson's 1850 report detailing their brief exploration of the canyon and Richard H. Kern's lithographs as the beginning of Chacoan archeology. The scientific investigation of Chaco Canyon started when Richard Wetherill began his exploration of the canyon in 1895. Wetherill was well known for his discovery of some of the largest Ancestral Puebloan dwellings in Mesa Verde, and after an invitation from amateur archeologist Sidney Palmer to survey Chaco Canyon, organized a one-month expedition to the region. He secured financial backing for a full season soon afterward, and in 1896 full-scale excavations began at Pueblo Bonito.

Question: What is the name of the building that an explorer found a well preserved room where "the stone walls still have their plaster upon them in a tolerable state of preservation."?
Answer: Chetro Ketl
A long-distance communication system that used smoke and mirrors existed in the region, and direct lines of sight have been established between Pueblo Alto, Huérfano Mountain in northern New Mexico, and Chimney Rock Pueblo in southern Colorado. Messages could have been relayed between these three points within minutes. On the mesa behind Chaco Canyon is an ancient road that runs north from Chetro Ketl, then northward along the east side of Pueblo Alto before joining with the Great North Road. The Pueblo Alto road network functioned between 1050 and 1140. It facilitated access to watering holes, terraced farming areas, and enabled interaction between Pueblo Alto and great houses like Pueblo Bonito and Chetro Ketl. It also led to a community along Escavada Wash. It may have served an important function in the transport of household goods, construction timber, and people throughout the San Juan Basin. Several road segments appear to be related to a row of Chetro Ketl's exterior rooms, which are thought to have been community storage space.In 1982 Robert Powers theorized that the road network "suggests an intercommunity organization and settlement system of regional extent". Because "Chaco Canyon is the convergence point of all presently documented extra-canyon roads", the area may represent a locus of regional control, or "the apex of the hierarchical system". Powers believes that great houses like Chetro Ketl were involved in civic coordination between the canyon sites and outlying communities. In 1993 David R. Wilcox proposed that a state-level society developed at Chaco, with an administrative center at Pueblo Bonito or Chetro Ketl. In a 2003 study of Chacoan artifacts, Frances Joan Mathien stated that the number of warrior-class individuals that would have been needed to support such a state – Wilcox estimated 500–1,000 – precludes his theory, and Wilcox is assuming a "greater Chacoan organizational complexity than any other scholar to date".Lekson developed a theory called the Chaco Meridian, which is based on architectural similarities between the Ancestral Puebloan sites at Aztec Ruins and Chaco Canyon, and Paquime at Casas Grandes in northern Mexico. He believes the sites were intentionally located on the same approximate line of longitude (107°57'25"), and this indicates a ceremonial connection between them. The Great North Road roughly follows the Chaco Meridian, and many of the ancient roads in the area appear to follow it towards key sites in the basin.

Question: Who believes there is a ceremonial connection between the Ancestral Puebloan sites and Paquime a Casas Grandes in northern Mexico?
Answer: Lekson
A long-distance communication system that used smoke and mirrors existed in the region, and direct lines of sight have been established between Pueblo Alto, Huérfano Mountain in northern New Mexico, and Chimney Rock Pueblo in southern Colorado. Messages could have been relayed between these three points within minutes. On the mesa behind Chaco Canyon is an ancient road that runs north from Chetro Ketl, then northward along the east side of Pueblo Alto before joining with the Great North Road. The Pueblo Alto road network functioned between 1050 and 1140. It facilitated access to watering holes, terraced farming areas, and enabled interaction between Pueblo Alto and great houses like Pueblo Bonito and Chetro Ketl. It also led to a community along Escavada Wash. It may have served an important function in the transport of household goods, construction timber, and people throughout the San Juan Basin. Several road segments appear to be related to a row of Chetro Ketl's exterior rooms, which are thought to have been community storage space.In 1982 Robert Powers theorized that the road network "suggests an intercommunity organization and settlement system of regional extent". Because "Chaco Canyon is the convergence point of all presently documented extra-canyon roads", the area may represent a locus of regional control, or "the apex of the hierarchical system". Powers believes that great houses like Chetro Ketl were involved in civic coordination between the canyon sites and outlying communities. In 1993 David R. Wilcox proposed that a state-level society developed at Chaco, with an administrative center at Pueblo Bonito or Chetro Ketl. In a 2003 study of Chacoan artifacts, Frances Joan Mathien stated that the number of warrior-class individuals that would have been needed to support such a state – Wilcox estimated 500–1,000 – precludes his theory, and Wilcox is assuming a "greater Chacoan organizational complexity than any other scholar to date".Lekson developed a theory called the Chaco Meridian, which is based on architectural similarities between the Ancestral Puebloan sites at Aztec Ruins and Chaco Canyon, and Paquime at Casas Grandes in northern Mexico. He believes the sites were intentionally located on the same approximate line of longitude (107°57'25"), and this indicates a ceremonial connection between them. The Great North Road roughly follows the Chaco Meridian, and many of the ancient roads in the area appear to follow it towards key sites in the basin.

Question: Whose theory did Frances Joan Mathien believe was precluded by the number of warrior-class individuals needed to support a state?
Answer: David R. Wilcox
A long-distance communication system that used smoke and mirrors existed in the region, and direct lines of sight have been established between Pueblo Alto, Huérfano Mountain in northern New Mexico, and Chimney Rock Pueblo in southern Colorado. Messages could have been relayed between these three points within minutes. On the mesa behind Chaco Canyon is an ancient road that runs north from Chetro Ketl, then northward along the east side of Pueblo Alto before joining with the Great North Road. The Pueblo Alto road network functioned between 1050 and 1140. It facilitated access to watering holes, terraced farming areas, and enabled interaction between Pueblo Alto and great houses like Pueblo Bonito and Chetro Ketl. It also led to a community along Escavada Wash. It may have served an important function in the transport of household goods, construction timber, and people throughout the San Juan Basin. Several road segments appear to be related to a row of Chetro Ketl's exterior rooms, which are thought to have been community storage space.In 1982 Robert Powers theorized that the road network "suggests an intercommunity organization and settlement system of regional extent". Because "Chaco Canyon is the convergence point of all presently documented extra-canyon roads", the area may represent a locus of regional control, or "the apex of the hierarchical system". Powers believes that great houses like Chetro Ketl were involved in civic coordination between the canyon sites and outlying communities. In 1993 David R. Wilcox proposed that a state-level society developed at Chaco, with an administrative center at Pueblo Bonito or Chetro Ketl. In a 2003 study of Chacoan artifacts, Frances Joan Mathien stated that the number of warrior-class individuals that would have been needed to support such a state – Wilcox estimated 500–1,000 – precludes his theory, and Wilcox is assuming a "greater Chacoan organizational complexity than any other scholar to date".Lekson developed a theory called the Chaco Meridian, which is based on architectural similarities between the Ancestral Puebloan sites at Aztec Ruins and Chaco Canyon, and Paquime at Casas Grandes in northern Mexico. He believes the sites were intentionally located on the same approximate line of longitude (107°57'25"), and this indicates a ceremonial connection between them. The Great North Road roughly follows the Chaco Meridian, and many of the ancient roads in the area appear to follow it towards key sites in the basin.

Question: What do many of the ancient roads appear to follow towards key sites in the basin?
Answer: Chaco Meridian
Nixon in China is an opera in three acts by John Adams, with a libretto by Alice Goodman. Adams' first opera, it was inspired by U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China. The work premiered at the Houston Grand Opera on October 22, 1987, in a production by Peter Sellars with choreography by Mark Morris. When Sellars approached Adams with the idea for the opera in 1983, Adams was initially reluctant, but eventually decided that the work could be a study in how myths come to be, and accepted the project. Goodman's libretto was the result of considerable research into Nixon's visit, though she disregarded most sources published after the 1972 trip.
To create the sounds he sought, Adams augmented the orchestra with a large saxophone section, additional percussion, and electronic synthesizer. Although sometimes described as minimalist, the score displays a variety of musical styles, embracing minimalism after the manner of Philip Glass alongside passages echoing 19th-century composers such as Wagner and Johann Strauss. With these ingredients, Adams mixes Stravinskian 20th-century neoclassicism, jazz references, and big band sounds reminiscent of Nixon's youth in the 1930s. The combination of these elements varies frequently, to reflect changes in the onstage action.
Following the 1987 premiere, the opera received mixed reviews; some critics dismissed the work, predicting it would soon vanish. However, it has been presented on many occasions since, in both Europe and North America, and has been recorded twice. In 2011, the opera received its Metropolitan Opera debut, a production based on the original sets, and in the same year was given an abstract production in Toronto by the Canadian Opera Company. Recent critical opinion has tended to recognize the work as a significant and lasting contribution to American opera.

Question: What is the first name of the person who was in China in Adam's opera?
Answer: Richard
Nixon in China is an opera in three acts by John Adams, with a libretto by Alice Goodman. Adams' first opera, it was inspired by U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China. The work premiered at the Houston Grand Opera on October 22, 1987, in a production by Peter Sellars with choreography by Mark Morris. When Sellars approached Adams with the idea for the opera in 1983, Adams was initially reluctant, but eventually decided that the work could be a study in how myths come to be, and accepted the project. Goodman's libretto was the result of considerable research into Nixon's visit, though she disregarded most sources published after the 1972 trip.
To create the sounds he sought, Adams augmented the orchestra with a large saxophone section, additional percussion, and electronic synthesizer. Although sometimes described as minimalist, the score displays a variety of musical styles, embracing minimalism after the manner of Philip Glass alongside passages echoing 19th-century composers such as Wagner and Johann Strauss. With these ingredients, Adams mixes Stravinskian 20th-century neoclassicism, jazz references, and big band sounds reminiscent of Nixon's youth in the 1930s. The combination of these elements varies frequently, to reflect changes in the onstage action.
Following the 1987 premiere, the opera received mixed reviews; some critics dismissed the work, predicting it would soon vanish. However, it has been presented on many occasions since, in both Europe and North America, and has been recorded twice. In 2011, the opera received its Metropolitan Opera debut, a production based on the original sets, and in the same year was given an abstract production in Toronto by the Canadian Opera Company. Recent critical opinion has tended to recognize the work as a significant and lasting contribution to American opera.

Question: What was the first name of the person who was approached with the idea for the opera in 1983?
Answer: John
Nixon in China is an opera in three acts by John Adams, with a libretto by Alice Goodman. Adams' first opera, it was inspired by U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China. The work premiered at the Houston Grand Opera on October 22, 1987, in a production by Peter Sellars with choreography by Mark Morris. When Sellars approached Adams with the idea for the opera in 1983, Adams was initially reluctant, but eventually decided that the work could be a study in how myths come to be, and accepted the project. Goodman's libretto was the result of considerable research into Nixon's visit, though she disregarded most sources published after the 1972 trip.
To create the sounds he sought, Adams augmented the orchestra with a large saxophone section, additional percussion, and electronic synthesizer. Although sometimes described as minimalist, the score displays a variety of musical styles, embracing minimalism after the manner of Philip Glass alongside passages echoing 19th-century composers such as Wagner and Johann Strauss. With these ingredients, Adams mixes Stravinskian 20th-century neoclassicism, jazz references, and big band sounds reminiscent of Nixon's youth in the 1930s. The combination of these elements varies frequently, to reflect changes in the onstage action.
Following the 1987 premiere, the opera received mixed reviews; some critics dismissed the work, predicting it would soon vanish. However, it has been presented on many occasions since, in both Europe and North America, and has been recorded twice. In 2011, the opera received its Metropolitan Opera debut, a production based on the original sets, and in the same year was given an abstract production in Toronto by the Canadian Opera Company. Recent critical opinion has tended to recognize the work as a significant and lasting contribution to American opera.

Question: What is the first name of the person who was initially reluctant, but eventually decided that the work could be a study in how myths come to be?
Answer: John
Nixon in China is an opera in three acts by John Adams, with a libretto by Alice Goodman. Adams' first opera, it was inspired by U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China. The work premiered at the Houston Grand Opera on October 22, 1987, in a production by Peter Sellars with choreography by Mark Morris. When Sellars approached Adams with the idea for the opera in 1983, Adams was initially reluctant, but eventually decided that the work could be a study in how myths come to be, and accepted the project. Goodman's libretto was the result of considerable research into Nixon's visit, though she disregarded most sources published after the 1972 trip.
To create the sounds he sought, Adams augmented the orchestra with a large saxophone section, additional percussion, and electronic synthesizer. Although sometimes described as minimalist, the score displays a variety of musical styles, embracing minimalism after the manner of Philip Glass alongside passages echoing 19th-century composers such as Wagner and Johann Strauss. With these ingredients, Adams mixes Stravinskian 20th-century neoclassicism, jazz references, and big band sounds reminiscent of Nixon's youth in the 1930s. The combination of these elements varies frequently, to reflect changes in the onstage action.
Following the 1987 premiere, the opera received mixed reviews; some critics dismissed the work, predicting it would soon vanish. However, it has been presented on many occasions since, in both Europe and North America, and has been recorded twice. In 2011, the opera received its Metropolitan Opera debut, a production based on the original sets, and in the same year was given an abstract production in Toronto by the Canadian Opera Company. Recent critical opinion has tended to recognize the work as a significant and lasting contribution to American opera.

Question: What is the first name of the person who accepted the project?
Answer: John
Nixon in China is an opera in three acts by John Adams, with a libretto by Alice Goodman. Adams' first opera, it was inspired by U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China. The work premiered at the Houston Grand Opera on October 22, 1987, in a production by Peter Sellars with choreography by Mark Morris. When Sellars approached Adams with the idea for the opera in 1983, Adams was initially reluctant, but eventually decided that the work could be a study in how myths come to be, and accepted the project. Goodman's libretto was the result of considerable research into Nixon's visit, though she disregarded most sources published after the 1972 trip.
To create the sounds he sought, Adams augmented the orchestra with a large saxophone section, additional percussion, and electronic synthesizer. Although sometimes described as minimalist, the score displays a variety of musical styles, embracing minimalism after the manner of Philip Glass alongside passages echoing 19th-century composers such as Wagner and Johann Strauss. With these ingredients, Adams mixes Stravinskian 20th-century neoclassicism, jazz references, and big band sounds reminiscent of Nixon's youth in the 1930s. The combination of these elements varies frequently, to reflect changes in the onstage action.
Following the 1987 premiere, the opera received mixed reviews; some critics dismissed the work, predicting it would soon vanish. However, it has been presented on many occasions since, in both Europe and North America, and has been recorded twice. In 2011, the opera received its Metropolitan Opera debut, a production based on the original sets, and in the same year was given an abstract production in Toronto by the Canadian Opera Company. Recent critical opinion has tended to recognize the work as a significant and lasting contribution to American opera.

Question: What is the first name of the person whose libretto was the result of considerable research into Nixon's visit?
Answer: Alice
Nixon in China is an opera in three acts by John Adams, with a libretto by Alice Goodman. Adams' first opera, it was inspired by U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China. The work premiered at the Houston Grand Opera on October 22, 1987, in a production by Peter Sellars with choreography by Mark Morris. When Sellars approached Adams with the idea for the opera in 1983, Adams was initially reluctant, but eventually decided that the work could be a study in how myths come to be, and accepted the project. Goodman's libretto was the result of considerable research into Nixon's visit, though she disregarded most sources published after the 1972 trip.
To create the sounds he sought, Adams augmented the orchestra with a large saxophone section, additional percussion, and electronic synthesizer. Although sometimes described as minimalist, the score displays a variety of musical styles, embracing minimalism after the manner of Philip Glass alongside passages echoing 19th-century composers such as Wagner and Johann Strauss. With these ingredients, Adams mixes Stravinskian 20th-century neoclassicism, jazz references, and big band sounds reminiscent of Nixon's youth in the 1930s. The combination of these elements varies frequently, to reflect changes in the onstage action.
Following the 1987 premiere, the opera received mixed reviews; some critics dismissed the work, predicting it would soon vanish. However, it has been presented on many occasions since, in both Europe and North America, and has been recorded twice. In 2011, the opera received its Metropolitan Opera debut, a production based on the original sets, and in the same year was given an abstract production in Toronto by the Canadian Opera Company. Recent critical opinion has tended to recognize the work as a significant and lasting contribution to American opera.

Question: What is the first name of the person who disregarded most sources published after the 1972 trip?
Answer: Alice
Nixon in China is an opera in three acts by John Adams, with a libretto by Alice Goodman. Adams' first opera, it was inspired by U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China. The work premiered at the Houston Grand Opera on October 22, 1987, in a production by Peter Sellars with choreography by Mark Morris. When Sellars approached Adams with the idea for the opera in 1983, Adams was initially reluctant, but eventually decided that the work could be a study in how myths come to be, and accepted the project. Goodman's libretto was the result of considerable research into Nixon's visit, though she disregarded most sources published after the 1972 trip.
To create the sounds he sought, Adams augmented the orchestra with a large saxophone section, additional percussion, and electronic synthesizer. Although sometimes described as minimalist, the score displays a variety of musical styles, embracing minimalism after the manner of Philip Glass alongside passages echoing 19th-century composers such as Wagner and Johann Strauss. With these ingredients, Adams mixes Stravinskian 20th-century neoclassicism, jazz references, and big band sounds reminiscent of Nixon's youth in the 1930s. The combination of these elements varies frequently, to reflect changes in the onstage action.
Following the 1987 premiere, the opera received mixed reviews; some critics dismissed the work, predicting it would soon vanish. However, it has been presented on many occasions since, in both Europe and North America, and has been recorded twice. In 2011, the opera received its Metropolitan Opera debut, a production based on the original sets, and in the same year was given an abstract production in Toronto by the Canadian Opera Company. Recent critical opinion has tended to recognize the work as a significant and lasting contribution to American opera.

Question: What is the first name of the person who augmented the orchestra with a large saxophone section?
Answer: John
Nixon in China is an opera in three acts by John Adams, with a libretto by Alice Goodman. Adams' first opera, it was inspired by U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China. The work premiered at the Houston Grand Opera on October 22, 1987, in a production by Peter Sellars with choreography by Mark Morris. When Sellars approached Adams with the idea for the opera in 1983, Adams was initially reluctant, but eventually decided that the work could be a study in how myths come to be, and accepted the project. Goodman's libretto was the result of considerable research into Nixon's visit, though she disregarded most sources published after the 1972 trip.
To create the sounds he sought, Adams augmented the orchestra with a large saxophone section, additional percussion, and electronic synthesizer. Although sometimes described as minimalist, the score displays a variety of musical styles, embracing minimalism after the manner of Philip Glass alongside passages echoing 19th-century composers such as Wagner and Johann Strauss. With these ingredients, Adams mixes Stravinskian 20th-century neoclassicism, jazz references, and big band sounds reminiscent of Nixon's youth in the 1930s. The combination of these elements varies frequently, to reflect changes in the onstage action.
Following the 1987 premiere, the opera received mixed reviews; some critics dismissed the work, predicting it would soon vanish. However, it has been presented on many occasions since, in both Europe and North America, and has been recorded twice. In 2011, the opera received its Metropolitan Opera debut, a production based on the original sets, and in the same year was given an abstract production in Toronto by the Canadian Opera Company. Recent critical opinion has tended to recognize the work as a significant and lasting contribution to American opera.

Question: What is the first name of the person who mixes Stravinskian 20th-century neoclassicism, jazz references, and big band sounds?
Answer: John
Nixon in China is an opera in three acts by John Adams, with a libretto by Alice Goodman. Adams' first opera, it was inspired by U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China. The work premiered at the Houston Grand Opera on October 22, 1987, in a production by Peter Sellars with choreography by Mark Morris. When Sellars approached Adams with the idea for the opera in 1983, Adams was initially reluctant, but eventually decided that the work could be a study in how myths come to be, and accepted the project. Goodman's libretto was the result of considerable research into Nixon's visit, though she disregarded most sources published after the 1972 trip.
To create the sounds he sought, Adams augmented the orchestra with a large saxophone section, additional percussion, and electronic synthesizer. Although sometimes described as minimalist, the score displays a variety of musical styles, embracing minimalism after the manner of Philip Glass alongside passages echoing 19th-century composers such as Wagner and Johann Strauss. With these ingredients, Adams mixes Stravinskian 20th-century neoclassicism, jazz references, and big band sounds reminiscent of Nixon's youth in the 1930s. The combination of these elements varies frequently, to reflect changes in the onstage action.
Following the 1987 premiere, the opera received mixed reviews; some critics dismissed the work, predicting it would soon vanish. However, it has been presented on many occasions since, in both Europe and North America, and has been recorded twice. In 2011, the opera received its Metropolitan Opera debut, a production based on the original sets, and in the same year was given an abstract production in Toronto by the Canadian Opera Company. Recent critical opinion has tended to recognize the work as a significant and lasting contribution to American opera.

Question: What is the first name of the person whose work was dismissed by some critics?
Answer: John
Nixon in China is an opera in three acts by John Adams, with a libretto by Alice Goodman. Adams' first opera, it was inspired by U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China. The work premiered at the Houston Grand Opera on October 22, 1987, in a production by Peter Sellars with choreography by Mark Morris. When Sellars approached Adams with the idea for the opera in 1983, Adams was initially reluctant, but eventually decided that the work could be a study in how myths come to be, and accepted the project. Goodman's libretto was the result of considerable research into Nixon's visit, though she disregarded most sources published after the 1972 trip.
To create the sounds he sought, Adams augmented the orchestra with a large saxophone section, additional percussion, and electronic synthesizer. Although sometimes described as minimalist, the score displays a variety of musical styles, embracing minimalism after the manner of Philip Glass alongside passages echoing 19th-century composers such as Wagner and Johann Strauss. With these ingredients, Adams mixes Stravinskian 20th-century neoclassicism, jazz references, and big band sounds reminiscent of Nixon's youth in the 1930s. The combination of these elements varies frequently, to reflect changes in the onstage action.
Following the 1987 premiere, the opera received mixed reviews; some critics dismissed the work, predicting it would soon vanish. However, it has been presented on many occasions since, in both Europe and North America, and has been recorded twice. In 2011, the opera received its Metropolitan Opera debut, a production based on the original sets, and in the same year was given an abstract production in Toronto by the Canadian Opera Company. Recent critical opinion has tended to recognize the work as a significant and lasting contribution to American opera.

Question: What has been recorded twice?
Answer: Nixon in China
In 1983, theater and opera director Peter Sellars proposed to American composer John Adams that he write an opera about Nixon's 1972 visit to China. Sellars was intrigued by Nixon's decision to make the visit, seeing it as both "a ridiculously cynical election ploy ... and a historical breakthrough". Adams, who had not previously attempted an opera, was initially skeptical, assuming that Sellars was proposing a satire. Sellars persisted, however, and Adams, who had interested himself in the origin of myths, came to believe the opera could show how mythic origins may be found in contemporary history.  Both men agreed that the opera would be heroic in nature, rather than poking fun at Nixon or Mao.  Sellars invited Alice Goodman to join the project as librettist,  and the three met at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. in 1985 to begin intensive study of the six characters, three American and three Chinese, upon whom the opera would focus. The trio endeavored to go beyond the stereotypes about figures such as Nixon and Chinese Chairman Mao Tse-tung and to examine their personalities.As Adams worked on the opera, he came to see Nixon, whom he had once intensely disliked, as an "interesting character", a complicated individual who sometimes showed emotion in public.  Adams wanted Mao to be "the Mao of the huge posters and Great Leap Forward; I cast him as a heldentenor".  Mao's wife, on the other hand, was to be "not just a shrieking coloratura, but also someone who in the opera's final act can reveal her private fantasies, her erotic desires, and even a certain tragic awareness.  Nixon himself is a sort of Simon Boccanegra, a self-doubting, lyrical, at times self-pitying melancholy baritone."Goodman explained her characterizations:
A writer tends to find her characters in her self, so I can tell you ... that Nixon, Pat, Mme. Mao, Kissinger and the chorus were all 'me.' And the inner lives of Mao and Chou En-Lai, who I couldn't find in myself at all, were drawn from a couple of close acquaintances.

Question: What is the first name of the person who who had not previously attempted an opera, was initially skeptical, assuming that Sellars was proposing a satire?
Answer: John
In 1983, theater and opera director Peter Sellars proposed to American composer John Adams that he write an opera about Nixon's 1972 visit to China. Sellars was intrigued by Nixon's decision to make the visit, seeing it as both "a ridiculously cynical election ploy ... and a historical breakthrough". Adams, who had not previously attempted an opera, was initially skeptical, assuming that Sellars was proposing a satire. Sellars persisted, however, and Adams, who had interested himself in the origin of myths, came to believe the opera could show how mythic origins may be found in contemporary history.  Both men agreed that the opera would be heroic in nature, rather than poking fun at Nixon or Mao.  Sellars invited Alice Goodman to join the project as librettist,  and the three met at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. in 1985 to begin intensive study of the six characters, three American and three Chinese, upon whom the opera would focus. The trio endeavored to go beyond the stereotypes about figures such as Nixon and Chinese Chairman Mao Tse-tung and to examine their personalities.As Adams worked on the opera, he came to see Nixon, whom he had once intensely disliked, as an "interesting character", a complicated individual who sometimes showed emotion in public.  Adams wanted Mao to be "the Mao of the huge posters and Great Leap Forward; I cast him as a heldentenor".  Mao's wife, on the other hand, was to be "not just a shrieking coloratura, but also someone who in the opera's final act can reveal her private fantasies, her erotic desires, and even a certain tragic awareness.  Nixon himself is a sort of Simon Boccanegra, a self-doubting, lyrical, at times self-pitying melancholy baritone."Goodman explained her characterizations:
A writer tends to find her characters in her self, so I can tell you ... that Nixon, Pat, Mme. Mao, Kissinger and the chorus were all 'me.' And the inner lives of Mao and Chou En-Lai, who I couldn't find in myself at all, were drawn from a couple of close acquaintances.

Question: What is the first name of the person who came to believe the opera could show how mythic origins may be found in contemporary history?
Answer: John
In 1983, theater and opera director Peter Sellars proposed to American composer John Adams that he write an opera about Nixon's 1972 visit to China. Sellars was intrigued by Nixon's decision to make the visit, seeing it as both "a ridiculously cynical election ploy ... and a historical breakthrough". Adams, who had not previously attempted an opera, was initially skeptical, assuming that Sellars was proposing a satire. Sellars persisted, however, and Adams, who had interested himself in the origin of myths, came to believe the opera could show how mythic origins may be found in contemporary history.  Both men agreed that the opera would be heroic in nature, rather than poking fun at Nixon or Mao.  Sellars invited Alice Goodman to join the project as librettist,  and the three met at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. in 1985 to begin intensive study of the six characters, three American and three Chinese, upon whom the opera would focus. The trio endeavored to go beyond the stereotypes about figures such as Nixon and Chinese Chairman Mao Tse-tung and to examine their personalities.As Adams worked on the opera, he came to see Nixon, whom he had once intensely disliked, as an "interesting character", a complicated individual who sometimes showed emotion in public.  Adams wanted Mao to be "the Mao of the huge posters and Great Leap Forward; I cast him as a heldentenor".  Mao's wife, on the other hand, was to be "not just a shrieking coloratura, but also someone who in the opera's final act can reveal her private fantasies, her erotic desires, and even a certain tragic awareness.  Nixon himself is a sort of Simon Boccanegra, a self-doubting, lyrical, at times self-pitying melancholy baritone."Goodman explained her characterizations:
A writer tends to find her characters in her self, so I can tell you ... that Nixon, Pat, Mme. Mao, Kissinger and the chorus were all 'me.' And the inner lives of Mao and Chou En-Lai, who I couldn't find in myself at all, were drawn from a couple of close acquaintances.

Question: What is the first name of the person who persisted in attempting to get Adams to write an opera?
Answer: Peter
In 1983, theater and opera director Peter Sellars proposed to American composer John Adams that he write an opera about Nixon's 1972 visit to China. Sellars was intrigued by Nixon's decision to make the visit, seeing it as both "a ridiculously cynical election ploy ... and a historical breakthrough". Adams, who had not previously attempted an opera, was initially skeptical, assuming that Sellars was proposing a satire. Sellars persisted, however, and Adams, who had interested himself in the origin of myths, came to believe the opera could show how mythic origins may be found in contemporary history.  Both men agreed that the opera would be heroic in nature, rather than poking fun at Nixon or Mao.  Sellars invited Alice Goodman to join the project as librettist,  and the three met at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. in 1985 to begin intensive study of the six characters, three American and three Chinese, upon whom the opera would focus. The trio endeavored to go beyond the stereotypes about figures such as Nixon and Chinese Chairman Mao Tse-tung and to examine their personalities.As Adams worked on the opera, he came to see Nixon, whom he had once intensely disliked, as an "interesting character", a complicated individual who sometimes showed emotion in public.  Adams wanted Mao to be "the Mao of the huge posters and Great Leap Forward; I cast him as a heldentenor".  Mao's wife, on the other hand, was to be "not just a shrieking coloratura, but also someone who in the opera's final act can reveal her private fantasies, her erotic desires, and even a certain tragic awareness.  Nixon himself is a sort of Simon Boccanegra, a self-doubting, lyrical, at times self-pitying melancholy baritone."Goodman explained her characterizations:
A writer tends to find her characters in her self, so I can tell you ... that Nixon, Pat, Mme. Mao, Kissinger and the chorus were all 'me.' And the inner lives of Mao and Chou En-Lai, who I couldn't find in myself at all, were drawn from a couple of close acquaintances.

Question: What is the first name of the person who came to see Nixon, whom he had once intensely disliked, as an "interesting character?"
Answer: John
In 1983, theater and opera director Peter Sellars proposed to American composer John Adams that he write an opera about Nixon's 1972 visit to China. Sellars was intrigued by Nixon's decision to make the visit, seeing it as both "a ridiculously cynical election ploy ... and a historical breakthrough". Adams, who had not previously attempted an opera, was initially skeptical, assuming that Sellars was proposing a satire. Sellars persisted, however, and Adams, who had interested himself in the origin of myths, came to believe the opera could show how mythic origins may be found in contemporary history.  Both men agreed that the opera would be heroic in nature, rather than poking fun at Nixon or Mao.  Sellars invited Alice Goodman to join the project as librettist,  and the three met at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. in 1985 to begin intensive study of the six characters, three American and three Chinese, upon whom the opera would focus. The trio endeavored to go beyond the stereotypes about figures such as Nixon and Chinese Chairman Mao Tse-tung and to examine their personalities.As Adams worked on the opera, he came to see Nixon, whom he had once intensely disliked, as an "interesting character", a complicated individual who sometimes showed emotion in public.  Adams wanted Mao to be "the Mao of the huge posters and Great Leap Forward; I cast him as a heldentenor".  Mao's wife, on the other hand, was to be "not just a shrieking coloratura, but also someone who in the opera's final act can reveal her private fantasies, her erotic desires, and even a certain tragic awareness.  Nixon himself is a sort of Simon Boccanegra, a self-doubting, lyrical, at times self-pitying melancholy baritone."Goodman explained her characterizations:
A writer tends to find her characters in her self, so I can tell you ... that Nixon, Pat, Mme. Mao, Kissinger and the chorus were all 'me.' And the inner lives of Mao and Chou En-Lai, who I couldn't find in myself at all, were drawn from a couple of close acquaintances.

Question: What is the first name of the person who wanted Mao to be "the Mao of the huge posters and Great Leap Forward?"
Answer: John
In 1983, theater and opera director Peter Sellars proposed to American composer John Adams that he write an opera about Nixon's 1972 visit to China. Sellars was intrigued by Nixon's decision to make the visit, seeing it as both "a ridiculously cynical election ploy ... and a historical breakthrough". Adams, who had not previously attempted an opera, was initially skeptical, assuming that Sellars was proposing a satire. Sellars persisted, however, and Adams, who had interested himself in the origin of myths, came to believe the opera could show how mythic origins may be found in contemporary history.  Both men agreed that the opera would be heroic in nature, rather than poking fun at Nixon or Mao.  Sellars invited Alice Goodman to join the project as librettist,  and the three met at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. in 1985 to begin intensive study of the six characters, three American and three Chinese, upon whom the opera would focus. The trio endeavored to go beyond the stereotypes about figures such as Nixon and Chinese Chairman Mao Tse-tung and to examine their personalities.As Adams worked on the opera, he came to see Nixon, whom he had once intensely disliked, as an "interesting character", a complicated individual who sometimes showed emotion in public.  Adams wanted Mao to be "the Mao of the huge posters and Great Leap Forward; I cast him as a heldentenor".  Mao's wife, on the other hand, was to be "not just a shrieking coloratura, but also someone who in the opera's final act can reveal her private fantasies, her erotic desires, and even a certain tragic awareness.  Nixon himself is a sort of Simon Boccanegra, a self-doubting, lyrical, at times self-pitying melancholy baritone."Goodman explained her characterizations:
A writer tends to find her characters in her self, so I can tell you ... that Nixon, Pat, Mme. Mao, Kissinger and the chorus were all 'me.' And the inner lives of Mao and Chou En-Lai, who I couldn't find in myself at all, were drawn from a couple of close acquaintances.

Question: What was the full name of the person who Adams cast as a heldentenor?
Answer: Chinese Chairman Mao Tse-tung
In 1983, theater and opera director Peter Sellars proposed to American composer John Adams that he write an opera about Nixon's 1972 visit to China. Sellars was intrigued by Nixon's decision to make the visit, seeing it as both "a ridiculously cynical election ploy ... and a historical breakthrough". Adams, who had not previously attempted an opera, was initially skeptical, assuming that Sellars was proposing a satire. Sellars persisted, however, and Adams, who had interested himself in the origin of myths, came to believe the opera could show how mythic origins may be found in contemporary history.  Both men agreed that the opera would be heroic in nature, rather than poking fun at Nixon or Mao.  Sellars invited Alice Goodman to join the project as librettist,  and the three met at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. in 1985 to begin intensive study of the six characters, three American and three Chinese, upon whom the opera would focus. The trio endeavored to go beyond the stereotypes about figures such as Nixon and Chinese Chairman Mao Tse-tung and to examine their personalities.As Adams worked on the opera, he came to see Nixon, whom he had once intensely disliked, as an "interesting character", a complicated individual who sometimes showed emotion in public.  Adams wanted Mao to be "the Mao of the huge posters and Great Leap Forward; I cast him as a heldentenor".  Mao's wife, on the other hand, was to be "not just a shrieking coloratura, but also someone who in the opera's final act can reveal her private fantasies, her erotic desires, and even a certain tragic awareness.  Nixon himself is a sort of Simon Boccanegra, a self-doubting, lyrical, at times self-pitying melancholy baritone."Goodman explained her characterizations:
A writer tends to find her characters in her self, so I can tell you ... that Nixon, Pat, Mme. Mao, Kissinger and the chorus were all 'me.' And the inner lives of Mao and Chou En-Lai, who I couldn't find in myself at all, were drawn from a couple of close acquaintances.

Question: What is the first name of the person who case Mao as a heldentenor?
Answer: John
In 1983, theater and opera director Peter Sellars proposed to American composer John Adams that he write an opera about Nixon's 1972 visit to China. Sellars was intrigued by Nixon's decision to make the visit, seeing it as both "a ridiculously cynical election ploy ... and a historical breakthrough". Adams, who had not previously attempted an opera, was initially skeptical, assuming that Sellars was proposing a satire. Sellars persisted, however, and Adams, who had interested himself in the origin of myths, came to believe the opera could show how mythic origins may be found in contemporary history.  Both men agreed that the opera would be heroic in nature, rather than poking fun at Nixon or Mao.  Sellars invited Alice Goodman to join the project as librettist,  and the three met at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. in 1985 to begin intensive study of the six characters, three American and three Chinese, upon whom the opera would focus. The trio endeavored to go beyond the stereotypes about figures such as Nixon and Chinese Chairman Mao Tse-tung and to examine their personalities.As Adams worked on the opera, he came to see Nixon, whom he had once intensely disliked, as an "interesting character", a complicated individual who sometimes showed emotion in public.  Adams wanted Mao to be "the Mao of the huge posters and Great Leap Forward; I cast him as a heldentenor".  Mao's wife, on the other hand, was to be "not just a shrieking coloratura, but also someone who in the opera's final act can reveal her private fantasies, her erotic desires, and even a certain tragic awareness.  Nixon himself is a sort of Simon Boccanegra, a self-doubting, lyrical, at times self-pitying melancholy baritone."Goodman explained her characterizations:
A writer tends to find her characters in her self, so I can tell you ... that Nixon, Pat, Mme. Mao, Kissinger and the chorus were all 'me.' And the inner lives of Mao and Chou En-Lai, who I couldn't find in myself at all, were drawn from a couple of close acquaintances.

Question: What are the full names of the two men would agreed that the opera would be heroic in nature?
Answer: Peter Sellars, John Adams