El Nino
Lighting Design
Produced by Spoleto Festival USA 2014 at the Memminger Auditorium in May 2014
Composed by John Adams, Libretto by Peter Sellars & John Adams
Directed & Designed by John La Bouchardière
with Associate Set Designer Ellan Parry
Costume Design by Magali Gerberon
Puppet Design by Steve Tiplady & Sally Todd
John Adams’s EL NIÑO re-tells tells the story of the nativity of Jesus in non-traditional ways, with soprano, mezzo, & baritone soloists, a trio of countertenors, a mixed chorus, and full orchestra. The story mixes Mexican poetry – Rosario Castellanos & Sor Juane Inés de la Cruz -, gospels from the bible and apocrypha and imagery from the Tlatelolco Massacre in Mexico City. It is told from a predominately female point of view. The Wall Street Journal’s Heidi Waleson writes this of the production:
“Light in the darkness is a theme throughout: Flashes evoke terror and wonder; tiny pinpoint lanterns hang from the ceiling; a brilliant spotlight streams from the bed where Mary gives birth surrounded by the chorus. (The lighting designer is Marcus Doshi.)”
Heidi Waleson in The Wall Street Journal, June 3, 2014
Full Text of the Wall Street Journal review