English National Opera (ENO) will perform John Adams’s El Niño to a socially distanced audience for two concert performances at the London Coliseum on 27 and 28 November 2020. This rarely performed work continues ENO’s long association with the composer’s work, having previously staged critically acclaimed productions of Nixon in China, The Death of Klinghoffer and Doctor Atomic as well as the world stage premiere of the oratorio The Gospel According to the Other Mary.  

Members of the award winning ENO Chorus and Orchestra will be conducted by ENO Music Director, Martyn Brabbins and will be joined on stage by six soloists – Nardus Williams (Soprano and ENO Harewood Artist), Jennifer Johnston (Mezzo Soprano), James Rutherford (Baritone), Jake Arditti (Countertenor), Tom Scott-Cowell (Countertenor) and Feargal Mostyn-Williams (Countertenor). They will also be joined by a children’s chorus from the Finchley Children’s Music Group. El Niño is an opera-oratorio which tells the Biblical story of the Nativity, through a variety of texts and languages from across history, including the Wakefield Mystery Plays and poems by Rosario Castellanos, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Gabriela Mistral, Vicente Huidobro, Rubén Darío and Hildegard von Bingen.

Annilese Miskimmon, Artistic Director, ENO, said: ‘El Niño is a luminous retelling of the Christmas story by John Adams. Written at a time of renewal and trepidation as the Millennium dawned, we hope that our audiences will find relief in this unfamiliar vision of the Nativity. We look forward to showing off the very best of ENO through this performance, with the combined force of our brilliant ENO Chorus and Orchestra, as well as our outstanding soloists and Children’s Choir.’

Tickets will go on public sale on Thursday 29 October. Those aged under 21 can attend for free through a ballot, with 50 pairs of tickets available for the first performance.