NEW YORK (AP) — The children crumple and fall to the stage, victims of King Herod’s assassins. Then the Virgin Mary, in a voice brimming with anguish and outrage, memorializes the student protesters who were massacred by Mexican armed forces in 1968. This is “El Nino,” a retelling of the birth and early life of Jesus through a mix of biblical verses and modern Latin American poetry, medieval texts and apocrypha. Set to music by John Adams from a libretto compiled by him and Peter Sellars, it is having its Metropolitan Opera premiere nearly a quarter-century after it was first performed in Paris in 2000. “It contains some of John’s greatest music,” Met general manager Peter Gelb said. “But I had always thought of it as an oratorio,” along the lines of Handel’s “Messiah.” That changed, he said, when he met with Lileana Blain-Cruz, resident director of Lincoln Center Theater, who told him ”her dream was to stage it as a fully realized production.” |
An Overview of Xi's Diplomacy in Spring 2023An Overview of Xi's Diplomacy in Spring 2023Universal Beijing Resort starts trial runBirds, locals in harmony under China's wetland conservationXi Replies to Letter from Students, Calling for Greater Contributions to Rural RevitalizationBirds, locals in harmony under China's wetland conservationHK eases restrictions on travel, integrates with national devtScenery of Arxan National Forest Park in north China's Inner MongoliaRussian Scholars Say Xi Jinping's Economic Thought Offers Wisdom to Global DevelopmentRural scenery in China's Gansu