John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, first performed in 2012 in Los Angeles, is something of an expansion on the composer's El Niņo, a Passion story adorned with a variety of contemporary themes and musical materials. Like the earlier work, it features a libretto by longtime Adams collaborator Peter Sellars, and it may be sung on-stage as an oratorio or presented as an opera. Mary Magdalene is indeed a central figure in the work, but actually it is more than the trick perspective the title might imply; as ...
Read More
John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, first performed in 2012 in Los Angeles, is something of an expansion on the composer's El Niņo, a Passion story adorned with a variety of contemporary themes and musical materials. Like the earlier work, it features a libretto by longtime Adams collaborator Peter Sellars, and it may be sung on-stage as an oratorio or presented as an opera. Mary Magdalene is indeed a central figure in the work, but actually it is more than the trick perspective the title might imply; as with El Niņo Sellars incorporates such devices as set pieces featuring poetry by other writers (this time poet Louise Erdrich plays the central role). Jesus seems to appear as through a prism, embodied by a trio of countertenors: a typical Adams masterstroke. Bach's Passions are obvious antecedents, but Andrew Clements of the London Guardian has accurately pointed out a resemblance to a work by a composer not much mentioned in the same breath as Adams: Leonard Bernstein's Mass....
Read Less
Portions of content provided by Rovi Corporation. © 2024 Rovi Corporation.