El Niño
is an opera by John Adams.
Described as a „nativity oratorio“, it retells the Christmas story, with the first half focusing on Mary’s thoughts before the birth in the stable in Bethlehem, and the second half covering the aftermath of the birth, Herod’s slaughter of the Holy Innocents, and the early life of Jesus. It premiered in Paris, and it was exciting to be part of a creation linking topics that spread over centuries.
Peter Sellars transposed this nativity to contemporary Los Angeles. I designed the exhibition space of A todra madre, where the opera, John Adam’s work and especially the Chicana lifestyle and struggle was documented. During the production I also assisted Bill Murphy, who edited the film that was projected on stage and operated the film-playback during the shows. Nathalie Latham, filmmaker and dear friend, did a documentary around El Niño called Scène d’amour for which I did the sound recording.
El Niño
music: John Adams
libretto: Peter Sellars
musical direction: Kent Nagano
direction and movie direction: Peter Sellars
Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin
Theatre of Voices, London Voices. Maîtrise de Paris
light design: James F. Ingalls
sound design: Mark Grey
with: Dawn Upshaw, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Willard White (solists)
Daniela Graça, Nora Kimball, Michael Schumacher (dancers)
…
video operator: Christina Clar
Théâtre du Châtelet (Paris), 2000
A toda madre
documentation space around the opera El Niño
Concept: Christian Leblé
design: Christina Clar
Espace Châtelet (Paris), 2000
