EL NIÑO: NATIVITY RECONSIDERED

An AMOC* Production

This chamber music arrangement—written specially for AMOC*—was first performed at The Met Cloisters in 2018, in the beautiful San Martín at Fuentidueña chapel. The New York Times called it “intimate, affecting and quietly rich with activism.” The piece, which celebrates Latin American poets and the voices of women, returned for a one-night-only engagement in December 2022 at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. A rarely performed work, El Niño “ruminates on the notion that with the promise of new life, there is the equal threat of inexplicable violence and sacrifice,” said Bullock, “one of opera’s fastest-rising stars” (Vanity Fair), who curated the selections being performed.

Music by JOHN ADAMS
Libretto compilation by PETER SELLARS
Musical selections by JULIA BULLOCK
Musical arrangement by CHRISTIAN REIF

JULIA BULLOCK, soprano
RACHAEL WILSON, mezzo-soprano
DAVÓNE TINES, baritone
ANTHONY ROTH COSTANZO, countertenor
EMI FERGUSON, flute
HASSAN ANDERSON, oboe
GLEB KANASEVICH, clarinet
ALEX DAVIS, bassoon
PRISCILLA RINEHART, horn
CONOR HANICK, piano
JOHN ARIDA, keyboard
JONNY ALLEN, percussion
JORDAN DODSON, Guitar
KEIR GOGWILT, MIRANDA CUCKSON, JULIA CHOI, CURTIS STEWART, MIRAN KIM, RAVENNA LIPCHIK, QIANWEN SHEN, LADY JESS, violin
ZOË MARTIN-DOIKE, CARRIE FREY, TIA ALLEN, CELIA HATTON, viola
COLEMAN ITZKOFF, ANDREW JANSS, TITILAYO AYANGADE, cello
DOUG BALLIETT, CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON, bass

The Choir of Trinity of Wall Street
SHABNAM ABEDI, MEG DUDLEY, MADELINE APPLE HEALEY, sopranos
KIRSTEN SOLLEK, PAMELA TERRY, altos
DAVID VANDERWAL, TOMMY WAZELLE, STEVEN CALDICOTT WILSON, tenors
JEFFREY GAVETT, STEVEN HRYCELAK, basses

CHRISTIAN REIF, conductor

JOHN TORRES, lighting design
MARK GREY, sound design
CATH BRITTAN, producer
STEFANO FLAVONI, assistant conductor
THOMAS MCCARGAR, chorus manager
BETSY AYER, stage manager
KIRK BALTZELL, assistant stage manager
ANDREW LULLING, sound engineer

Premiered December 2018 at The Met Cloisters, Fuentidueña Apse, New York, NY

Performed December 21, 2022, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York, NY

Production photos by Nina Westervelt

“…elevated an already-revisionist work into something much more powerful”

Gallery*

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