KANSAS CITY, the United States, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Almost 40 years exactly after former U.S. President Richard Nixon's historic visit to China, the "week that changed the world" was recreated Saturday night with the premiere of "Nixon in China" by the Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

The modern American opera, written by composer John Adams and first performed in 1987, chronicles Nixon's 1972 trip to China and meeting with Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai. The visit ultimately led to the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States.

Given both the historical significance of Nixon's visit and a cast of characters as vivid and famous as Nixon and his wife Pat Nixon, Henry Kissinger, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, "Nixon in China" is an opera inherently ripe with drama, and the way the opera is staged truly makes the moment appear larger than life.

The opera is grand in scale from the first time the curtain rises, when a massive reconstruction of the "Spirit of '76" presidential plane takes up the entire stage and serves as a backdrop while Nixon steadily descends to shake Zhou's hand.

"What opera does is give you a heightened look upon any event, because unlike coverage on a network or CNN, there is artistic license and we go inside these people and imagine what was going on in their minds," Maddalena told Xinhua in an interview about his experience with "Nixon in China."

"The Lyric Opera of Kansas City production of "Nixon in China" will run at the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts until March 18. "Nixon in China" is directed by Michael Cavanaugh, who first staged his version of the opera in Vancouver in March 2010.

"Nixon in China" was also performed by the San Francisco Opera in June 2011.