El Niño, English National Opera live

The 'nativity oratorio' by contemporary American composer John Adams’s El Niño tells the story of the birth of Christ from an unusual angle. Rather than the male voice of an evangelist, predominantly high voices interpret the poetry of Latin-American women, articulating Mary's thoughts before and after the birth.

At English National Opera, El Niño – the title is Spanish for 'little boy' – will be performed twice to a socially distanced audience at the London Coliseum on 27 and 28 November. In an impressive cast, soprano Nardus Williams and mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston are joined by counter-tenors Jake Arditti, Tom Scott-Cowell and Feargal Mostyn-Williams, plus James Rutherford (baritone)

Rarely performed since its 2000 premiere, El Niño is the latest in a distinguished line of productions of John Adams's music by English National Opera. Notable have been Nixon in China, The Death of Klinghoffer and Doctor Atomic.

The ENO Chorus and Orchestra and Finchley Children’s Music Group will be conducted by ENO music director Martyn Brabbins.

Sources in a variety of languages include 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.

ENO artistic director Annilese Miskimmon says: ‘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.’

El Niño is the latest live offering from ENO, which scored a huge hit with its Drive and Live La Bohème. Also in the pipeline, Mozart's Requiem (6 and 7 Nov).

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Priority booking for ENO Members opens on Wed 28 Oct. Tickets for the general public goes on sale on Thurs 29 Oct. Under-21s can attend for free through a ballot