Reading The New Yorker is a bit like self-inflicted punishment that I ritually endure every week: I read up on all the latest exhibitions and performances going on in NYC that I really want to see and experience but I can’t because NYC is not a hop-skip away from Vegas.
That’s until I read about opera singer Davóne Tines’s Metropolitan Opera debut in composer John Adams’s El Niño, which prompted me to send a WhatsApp to my dearest Lüg the next morning to ask if I could sleep over for a quickie 72-hour getaway.
“What’s special about this opera?”
Welp, I only knew a handful of fun facts about the actual opera itself:
It’s a contemporary take on the birth of Jesus
John Adams was the composer and he collaborated with Peter Sellars
Marin Alsop would be conducting the orchestra (and boy, did I love her interview with Terry Gross)
The main reason why I chose El Niño was because I’ve been following Davóne and his performance schedule for the past couple of years and thought, What better chance to see him finally perform live and quench my thirst for city living, if only for a moment?
In the end, I didn’t like this particular opera.
The cast was magnificent. Davóne was a force. The set design and lighting were delicious for my red-eye flight eyeballs to take in. And while I don’t need to dig for reasons as to why I didn’t like El Niño, I did have some revelations as I walked down the carpeted Met staircase:
Though I have experienced contemporary interpretations of traditional European opera, this was the first opera I’ve seen in real life where the primary libretto (vocal text) was English
I’ve also had a complicated musical relationship with Mr. John Adams since I was a tween - I didn’t enjoy playing his stuff then and it’s like some weird desire to want to like his stuff now that I’m a grownup. Even though no one gives a care. I guess I still don’t like his stuff
I grew up Catholic and I am no longer a practicing Catholic. I’m familiar with the story of the birth of Jesus and I found myself thinking: Was there an opportunity to tell a different story, or utilise a lesser known story to serve as the basis for this contemporary opera to spice things up in the opera world a bit?
Even though Davóne originally inspired me to make an impromptu trip out to NYC, it turned out that - as with most of my adventures - the short milk and wine dates with friends and fam is what made this long weekend in the middle of the work week most delightful.
Where’s next on my Davóne list? And who wants to join?
Sampai j(h)umpa, peeps!
xx tiff