The Gospel according to the other Mary by John Adams

2-4 Nov. The Italian premiere of the contemporary oratorio by American composer John Adams is performed by the Accademia Nazionale di S. Cecilia in conjunction with Romaeuropa Festival. It takes the theme of the Passion of Christ from the point of view of Mary Magdalene, Martha and Lazarus. 
Some of the libretto, in Italian, Spanish and English, is based on texts by the radical Catholic lay woman Dorothy Day, who worked among the outcast and homeless in early 20th-century America, as well as writings by Primo Levi. The action moves backwards and forwards between the Biblical past and contemporary California. 
The work, which had its world premiere in Los Angeles in 2012 when it was conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, will be conducted in Rome by the composer himself, who returns to S. Cecilia for the first time in a couple of decades. For full details see S. Cecilia website.