Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – A new holiday tradition: John Adams’ powerfully distilled EL NIÑO: NATIVITY RECONSIDERED is accessible yet revisionist

• By drediman
• December 22, 2023
• No Comments

Last night at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, I attended my third Christnastime oratorio, John Adams and Peter Sellars’ El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered (you can read my joint review of recent performances of Trinity Wall Street’s Messiah and David Lang’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Little Match Girl Passion, both exceptional, here). First performed in 2018 at the Met Cloisters, soprano Julia Bullock’s powerful distillation of Adams and Sellars’ 2000 work for American Modern Opera Company — or “AMOC” for short — places the libretto’s compilation of Spanish poems by Latin American writers front and center.

Although the work in its “Nativity Reconsidered” format loses some of the expansiveness and wonderful strangeness of the original composition — about half the work has been excised, most notably Adams’ large scale choral passages — it’s also arguably more focused and emotionally affecting as a result (those of you who miss the size of it all, fear not — the Metropolitan Opera is scheduled to present a new production of El Niño this spring). By putting the focus more squarely on the drama of Mary’s journey, Bullock’s sobering curated version brings heightened urgency and real threat to the unfolding of the Nativity story. It’s this juxtaposition that brings tension and texture to the revisionist yet accessible retelling.

Musically, the one-night-only concert was exceptional. Leading the AMOC Orchestra was conductor Christian Reif, who beautifully phrased Adams’ undulating, emotionally vivid score. Returning to the AMOC presentation were Bullock (in soaring voice as Mary), as well as fan favorite countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo and robust bass-baritone Davóne Tines. The real find of the evening, however, was newcomer Jasmin White as the contralto soloist. Bright yet elegant, her voice floated through Adams’ shimmering vocal lines with supple grace. In summary, El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered has the real opportunity to become a true holiday tradition — at St. John the Divine, and beyond.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

EL NIÑO: NATIVITY RECONSIDERED
Classical Music
AMOC / The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine
1 hour (without an intermission)
One night only (December 21, 2023)