El Niño: An Opera by John Adams (2000)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Starring Dawn Upshaw, Willard White, and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson
Conducted by Kent Nagano
Stage Direction by Peter Sellars
Video Direction by Peter Maniura
Libretto by John Adams and Peter Sellars

Features:

• Interview with Adams and other crew members
  

Released by: Naxos
Rating: NR
Region: 1
Anamorphic: Yes

My Advice: Please, do yourself a favor and see this one at least once

El Niño is a fascinating look at opera in the hands of modern composers and performers. It is, at its most basic, a look at the archetype of motherhood and birth using the metaphor of the birth of Christ as a basis. Through the multiple Marys who appear on the stage and screen, Adams is able to explore the sacred role of motherhood using women’s own words for the text of the opera. Adams in his interview states that the idea of the “Virgin Mary” can never be reduced, is more than a story, and works on multiple levels. That can also be said about his opera. Historically and literarily relevant, this is a tale that is also relevant for today.

The opera is for the most part staged like a Broadway play, but all along, there is a large screen in the background showing a film to go along with the action. At times, this film takes over the viewer’s screen and is the focus of the view. The periodic changes between Marys, on stage and on screen, are at first a bit disorienting, but eventually, they blend together to form one unified idea of motherhood, loss, and joy.

The performers are all amazing. Baritone Willard White as Joseph is simply incredible; he is able to broadcast power with emotional relevance and quiet strength in a way that will simply knock your socks off. The soprano and main Mary, Dawn Upshaw, is similarly splendid—half actress and half diva. The rest of the cast is also marvelous, even the mute dancers who demonstrate movement and show the potential for dance to convey emotion.

Nagano’s orchestra is a solid accompaniment to the action and the voices; the music has enough backbone to stand up to the complex and emotionally vivid singers, but never takes over the action or confuses the viewer/listener with too much auditory information. Nagano’s touch is superb and perfectly balanced.

The audio and video quality are good enough to present this opera beautifully, but viewers will be left aching to have seen this modern masterpiece in person. Set your TV and DVD players to full stereo and just sit back, ready to be blown away.

In short, if you are interested in modern music, then you will love this work, even if you don’t consider yourself an opera fan. There’s enough going on here that even young viewers won’t get bored, and besides, most of the song is in English, with the balance in Spanish and taken from women’s poetry. It is simply a wonderful, ambitious, beautiful project, and something you will be proud to have seen. Watch this one today at least once.