Adams at 70
John Adams: ‘My themes come largely from my personal engagement with contemporary life’
VERN EVANS
Whether by coincidence or synchronicity, 2017 is a double milestone year for John Adams. He not only turns 70 on 15 February, but also celebrates the 30th anniversary of his birth as an opera composer. Nixon in China was unveiled at Houston Grand Opera in 1987, setting the stage for an operatic career marked by those seemingly inseparable twins, innovation and controversy. Amid what was at the time a moribund scene for new opera in America, this striking debut offered a fresh look at the genre’s potential, paving the way – along with the work of Adams’ older contemporary, Philip Glass – towards a resurgence that has only intensified over the past decade.