Composer John Adams’ and librettist Peter Sellars’ opera, “El Niño,” debuted at Metropolitan Opera earlier this year, making this their fourth work to be produced at the Met, including “Doctor Atomic” (2008), “Nixon in China” (2011), and “The Death of Klinghoffer” (2014). OperaWire reviewed the production in addition to attending and documenting Guggenheim Museum’s “Works & Process” presentation by the creative team, including soprano Julia Bullock, mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges, bass-baritone Davóne Tines, director Lileana Blain-Cruz, conductor Marin Alsop, set designer Adam Rigg, and Met’s general manager Peter Gelb (moderator), prior to the debut.

The full review is available here.

El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered

“El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered” began as an idea by soprano Julia Bullock when the Met proposed she present a program at The Cloisters, during her residency in 2018. Her decision to feature a restructured version of “El Niño,” reflecting on the stories within Peter Sellars’s libretto that uncover humanity’s inescapable lessons and belief based narratives, developed further into what is now “El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered.”

According to her website’s description of this project, Bullock says, “To perform a musical work that celebrates Latin American poets and the voices of women in a space dedicated to Western European architecture with solely Western European religious art that was preserved by mostly Western European patriarchs was also something that felt relevant not just to my residency, but also to the Met Museum itself. In the past five years the Met has incorporated curators who specialize in Latin American art into various departments, wanting to further ensure that the narratives told about the Met’s art and its history are comprehensive and unabridged.”

Bullock leaned on her artistic community of pioneering artists, making this proposal possible and full-bodied in a new way. The historical impression of this “distilled rendering” was a success, featuring conductor Christian Reif, soprano Julia Bullock, mezzo-soprano J’nai Bridges, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, bass-baritone Davóne Tines, and the ensemble of the American Modern Opera Company’s (AMOC) in December 2018. The tradition it continues to carry forward today serves as a reminder of the harsh reality that is the human experience as well as the in-between moments of beauty: something that resonates with audiences far and wide.

Illuminating Julia Bullock

Julia Bullock is a pioneer in the opera world. Her passion for cultivating collaborations and inspiring new perspectives through the art of music is changing the way opera can “bridge the gap” between generations. She is also renowned as someone who loves to learn, taking the opportunities she is given and giving back through her works of intense research and thoughtful application, and leads an artistically-driven lifestyle that aims to better the world around her.

Bullock’s voice carries more than what meets the ears, making her and what she brings forward always an interesting experience to behold. “El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered” encapsulates all the things that make chamber music intimate and timeless and Bullock’s performance reflected this intention. Her voice is bold, articulate, and rich in both her performance of the opera at the Met and the chamber version at the spacious and dramatic Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. Both spaces allowed Bullock’s middle range to resonate, but to my ear I felt her performance to be its most captivating in the cathedral. She looked and sounded at home in her surroundings, and her performance came across as effortlessly joyful (even during the most difficult passages of the libretto).

The church’s capacity to house the full embodiment of John Adams’s composition also made a huge difference. This work as a chamber piece illuminated each instrument with clear intention and so brought forward a whole new spectrum of tonal colors and deeper meaning behind the libretto. Bullock’s voice was like a finely tuned instrument soaring along with the musicians, while at the Met there were times where the orchestra overpowered her. I am so grateful I got to attend this performance, in this space, and in this more intimate way, because “El Niño” (all of John Adams’s and Peter Sellars’s works, actually) are my favorites. Congratulations to Bullock for sticking with her gut on this idea back in 2018 and please keep this going for future generations as an alternative “tradition” to experience during the holiday season. This, for me, was a light at the end of a dark tunnel, making the art of music relevant and real.

More Musical Highlights

Conductor Christian Reif leads the singers and musicians with a deep sense of empathy and grace. In my opinion, this piece would not have worked as well as it did in anyone else’s hands. There was a palpable sense of “knowing” between Reif and Adams’ score throughout the night. The moments where Reif created openings within the composition for every instrument and section to breathe were outstanding. I could also hear the guitar playing for the first time! This was not as clear during the Met performance, likely due to the nature of the space. Reif also showed tremendous care during the singers’ entrances and performances. Davóne Tines was riveting, as always, literally shaking down the heavens with his voice and radiant presence. Reif handed over the reins, allowing Tines’s mastery to fully manifest. It was interesting to experience his voice in the cathedral space too, reverberating and reimagining what I can only imagine the pipe organ sounds like. I was blown away.

Mezzo-soprano Rachael Wilson’s voice was the greatest surprise of the night, for me. Her tonal palette is an advanced array of colors and emotions with many moments of spine chilling high notes that seemed to float into another realm. Her vocal phrasing made Peter Sellars’s libretto move with lightness and connectivity. She also sounded well-balanced with Bullock’s soprano. Wilson’s vocal agility was her strongest attribute among the other voices in this performance. She painted a beautiful sound tapestry with her voice and I remember a moment in particular that stood out when her voice and the guitar playing took my breath away. Her voice was full of tenderness and thoughtful care. I look forward to hearing more of her in the future.

Countertenor Kyle Tingzon‘s unique vocal timbre resonated with clarity in the cathedral’s spacious hall. He added a special quality of sound to the ensemble of singers and musicians.

The choir of Trinity of Wall Street was also a highlight of this performance and made Adams’s composition stand out in a new way to my ears. There were moments of rhythmic interplay between the voices, and the choir’s singers did an excellent job staying in tempo and vocally dynamic throughout. Their energy was lively and abundant in emotional intelligence.

The instrumentalists of the night included Emi Ferguson (flute/piccolo), Roni Gal-Ed (oboe/English horn), Gleb Kanasevich (clarinet/bass clarinet), Alexander Davis (bassoon/contrabassoon), Priscilla Rinehart (horn), Conor Hanick (piano), John Arida (keyboard), Jonny Allen (percussion), Keir GoGwilt, Miranda Cuckson, Julia Choi, Josh Henderson, Miran Kim, Qianwen Shen, Ravenna Lipchik, Siwoo Kim (violin), Zöe Martin-Doike, Tia Allen, Carrie Frey, Celia Hatton (viola), Coleman Itzkoff, Seth Parker Woods, Titilayo Ayangade (cello), Doug Balliett, Christopher Johnson (double bass), and special mention of Jordan Dodson (guitar).

The lighting design was by Christopher Gilmore, and sound design by Rich Jacobsohn. The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine was the perfect space for this performance. AMOC’s production of “El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered” resonates with the human experience on multiple levels while honoring the core intention of Adams’ and Sellars’ work: poetry in the face of the unknown.