I went to see John Adams's El Niño at BAM tonight. Ugh. I think living in California has ruined his mind. Given the current state of the world, the last thing I want to hear is a religious work about Mary and the birth of Jesus. I live in a country whose president says he is a man of faith and God wants him to bomb Iraq to make us safe. Soaking in the most anti-woman, anti-human aspects of Christianity isn't something I want to make time for. Let's think about it: the only woman suitable to bear Jesus is a virgin, so the only really holy woman in Christianity does something no human woman can do: bear a child while remaining a virgin.
The music isn't even particulary interesting, with a few exceptions, and I love a lot of Adams's work -- especially Nixon in China and Death of Klinghoffer.
For a better written take on the whole thing, go read James.
