El nino

A modern opera by John Adams, this is the world premier production of “El nino”, staged at the Theatre Musical be Paris-Chatelet, in 2000. Cast consists of: libretto, John Adams, Peter Sellars; soprano, Dawn Upshaw; mezzo-soprano, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson; baritone, Willard White; theatre of voices, Daniel Bubeck, Brian Cummings and Steven Rickards; performed by the Deutsches Symphonie Orchestre Berlin; conducted by Kent Nagano; dancers, Daniela Graca, Nora Kimball and Michael Shumacher. American minimalist composer John Adams represents the Christmas story, in light of the dawn of a new millennium, by interpreting the story described and prophesied in the New Testament of the Bible, as translated by American Richard Latimore. Adams has fragmented this text, added Old English and utilised the Apocrypha, while focusing on the work of female Latin American poets. Adams’ desire is to depict the birth of Christ simultaneously from several different, largely female, points of view. As the singers and dancers perform the work, a video track, created by Peter Sellars and Yreina D. Cervantez, is displayed as a backdrop, poignantly remarking upon the meagre existence of Hispanic Americans who live in the desert area near Los Angeles, between airport and beach. A stunningly original contemporary work, impressively staged and executed.