Join us for the digital premiere of soprano Julia Bullock's reconsideration of the Nativity story.
Experience this uniquely distilled rendering of John Adams's monumental Christmas oratorio El Niño, specially arranged for American Modern Opera Company (AMOC) and set in The Met Cloisters as part of Julia Bullock's 2018–2019 season as MetLiveArts Artist in Residence.
Adams's piece delves into Christ's Nativity through Latin American poetry. Consciously staging this work in The Fuentidueña Chapel at The Met Cloisters, a space dedicated to European art, architecture, and narrative, Bullock and AMOC question the established European interpretation of the Nativity story. This prerecorded performance was the world premiere of Bullock's new arrangement. It also marked AMOC's debut performance in
New York City.
Read Julia Bullock's notes on the program below.
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Music by John Adams
Libretto compilation by Peter Sellars
Musical selections by Julia Bullock
Musical arrangement by Preben Antonsen,
with contributions by Chad Cannon and Christian Reif
American Modern Opera Company
Matthew Aucoin and Zack Winokur, artistic directors
Christian Reif, conductor*
Julia Bullock, soprano
J'nai Bridges, mezzo-soprano*
Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor
Davone Tines, bass-baritone
Miranda Cuckson, violin
Keir GoGwilt, violin
Hannah Levinson, viola*
Coleman Itzkoff, cello
Andrew Janss, cello*
Doug Balliett, double bass
Jordan Dodson, guitar*
Emi Ferguson, flute
Arthur Sato, oboe*
Rebekah Heller, bassoon*
Jonny Allen, percussion
Conor Hanick, piano
*AMOC guest artist
Notes on the program:
My first apartment in New York City was at the 190th Street stop on the A train, just at the base of Fort Tryon Park, and The Met Cloisters was one of the first places that I sought out. Having lived 100 miles north in the Hudson Valley for two years while studying music at Bard College, I missed the idyllic setting. Climbing to an overlook with an expansive view of the Hudson River and George Washington Bridge was a respite, and it provided a perspective that I couldn't experience anywhere else in the city. The Met Cloisters was designed as a composite space, with diverse medieval architecture and art from across western Europe placed side by side—but I found it harmonious and integrated, an environment where I could move fluidly from gallery to garden, chapel to burial place.
When The Met proposed that I present a program here during the holidays, my mind immediately began to consider El Niño by composer John Adams and librettist Peter Sellars.
El Niño, a Nativity oratorio, is one of my favorite pieces of music and I feel one of John and Peter's greatest collaborations. It's a mammoth work—almost two hours long, scored for full orchestra with extended instrumentation, adult and children's chorus, and six soloists, half of whom provide the extraordinary combination of three countertenors. It is rarely programmed, either because of the resources needed or possibly because our North American holiday tradition insists upon multiple performances of Handel's Messiah. The Messiah is, of course, a beloved work, but it doesn’t meditate solely on the Nativity story; it also encompasses the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. El Niño, on the other hand, explores the central themes of the Nativity—the immaculate conception, the unique relationship between mother and child, and gift giving—and also ruminates on the notion that with the promise of new life, there is the equal threat of inexplicable violence and sacrifice. In creating El Niño, John and Peter consciously decided that alongside European interpretations from the male-centric biblical canon, they would feature the contributions of women and Latin American poets.
To perform a musical work that celebrates Latin American poets and the voices of women in a space dedicated to European architecture with solely European religious art was something that felt relevant—not just to my residency, but also to The Met 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.
The prospect of performing El Niño in this space was too good to pass up, so I wanted to see if there was a way to tell the complete Nativity story using the original source material, while being—for lack of a better word—economical. I spent time with the score and the original 2001 recording, which features two of the most inspiring and influential vocalists of the time, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson and Dawn Upshaw. It was difficult to consider cutting the astounding choruses and omitting the three countertenors, who represented the voices of both celestial and earthly messengers, but I had to keep myself on task: tell the entire Nativity story; honor the intimate chapel space where it would be performed; and consider the fiscal realities of a work this large.
I wrote to John and Peter with my proposed ideas and how I intended to restructure the piece for a chapel setting. I explained that my reason for wanting to reimagine their El Niño was because I felt strongly that their illumination of the Nativity story should be shared and heard by more people and in more contexts. Within two phone conversations, we had a confirmed list of material and John had proposed the arranger he wanted.
I've never thought of this current presentation as a chamber music reduction of the original, but rather a distilled rendering. It is something different, as it must be. Although there is an accepted element of risk for all of us who have been involved in the various iterations of this work, I'm simply excited to bring El Niño to this intimate and sacred space in New York City.
I’m so grateful for all who have contributed and made this project possible: from John Adams, who made this his gift to my residency, to each member of my artistic family in the American Modern Opera Company (AMOC) who are making their New York debut with this performance. It gives me great joy to think about how our young company will continue to enable projects, collaborations, and ambitious ideas, such as this, to exist.
—Julia Bullock
Nativity Reconsidered is made possible by The Howard & Sarah D. Solomon Foundation.
Julia Bullock's residency is made possible by the Chester Dale Fund and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
MetLiveArts programming at The Met Cloisters is supported by Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne.
Past generous support was provided by the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation.
