Adams El Nino

This is John Adams' take on the 'Christmas Oratorio': a large-scale music theatre work entitled El nino. How does one actually celebrate Christ's birth in a land where palm trees and race conflicts flourish - in sunny California? Perhaps the way Adams and director Peter Sellars portray it at the beginning of El Nino(La Nativite),which was first performed nine days before Christmas 2000 at the Parisian Théâtre du Châtelet: with a tree and festoons of lights. Their interpretation is supported brilliantly by Dawn Upshaw, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson and Willard White in the main roles.