Sequenza21/The Contemporary Classical Music Weekly

Last Night in L.A. - "El Nino" as an Oratorio

The Los Angeles Philharmonic first performed John Adams� �El Nino�(2000) in 2003. The cast was outstanding, but my memory is dominated by the Peter Sellars� film that accompanied the music. The film transformed the Nativity to Los Angeles, and the Family to Hispanics of the city, and Bethlehem to the beach--specifically, the beach under the flight path of planes leaving LAX. Sellars created some vivid images. The music? Well, it didn�t affect me that much. I felt it was interesting, and it was good that Adams was stretching himself with the work, but I wasn�t nearly as impressed as some of the reviewers were.

Last night�s performance had almost the same cast: the incomparable Dawn Upshaw; the impressive Willard White; Daniel Bubeck, Brian Cummings, and Paul Flight as the three countertenors; the Master Chorale; the Children�s Chorus; Salonen conducting; only Michelle DeYoung was new as a replacement for Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. (I guess there were a few changes in the Children�s Chorus, but they appear only in the final song.) The performance was that of a conventional oratorio; the Sellars film with its sometimes vivid but sometimes banal images was absent.

The music? Well, this is clearly a major work of art. I had to go back and check the Internet; the 2003 performance was held in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, in the last months before the move to Disney Hall. The sublety of the orchestration would certainly have been covered up by the Pavilion�s acoustics. Having this performance in Disney increased the clarity and the immediacy and the impact of the music. The Sellars film diverted attention from the music itself. And I also think that Salonen led the musicians with much more emotion and range of expression than was the case when they were accompanying the action on screen. But perhaps much of the difference was merely in my having a second hearing of the music, this time really focusing on the sound and the expression.

I was really impressed. I don�t think it�s a perfect work; in particular, I believe that words in an oratorio are supposed to be understandable, and sometimes writing for the chorus Adams put syllables to music in a way that removes comprehension. Some syllables in English just cannot be understood when they must be held over three or four notes; either the vowel changes or the consonants get lost or both. Some of the choral music just produced mush. But the music for the soloists was clear and impressive, especially in the second half aria for soprano lamenting Herod�s killing of the children (to a text lamenting the killing of students in Mexico City); sung by Upshaw. This was an emotional and deeply affecting experience. I really hadn�t realized that the music was this good when I heard �El Nino� the first time.

The audience roared its appreciation for Adams when he came on stage from his seat in the audience to accept his bows to the ovation following the performance.

And speaking of John Adams, he is also Festival Director of the Phil�s upcoming �Minimalist Jukebox,� which has now been expanded. The full schedule is here.

posted by Jerry Zinser 12/19/2005