John Adams at 80: Celebrations Span 23 Countries Worldwide

(October 2026)

As John Adams celebrates his 80th birthday on February 15, 2027, leading orchestras, opera companies, and artists around the world are honoring the influential American composer with a season of major performances spanning at least 23 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Hungary, Finland, Norway, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Greece, Portugal, Brazil, Singapore, Israel, China, and Australia. Highlights include international tours with the New York Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestra, stagings of major operas including Nixon in China and Doctor Atomic at leading opera houses, and appearances by Adams on the podium with orchestras across Europe and the United States. The celebrations encompass the full breadth of his music catalog, from landmark operas and orchestral works to his most recent compositions.

A centerpiece of the anniversary season is a series of all-Adams programs by the London Symphony Orchestra in January. Sir Simon Rattle conducts Frenzy: a short symphony and The Gospel According to the Other Mary in London and Paris, while Adams himself leads the orchestra on a European tour (January 13–24), performing After the Fall with pianist soloist Víkingur Ólafsson in London, Paris, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Frankfurt, and Hamburg.

Adams also conducts several major American orchestras throughout the season, leading the National Symphony Orchestra in Scheherazade.2 with violinist Leila Josefowicz (October 15–16); New York Philharmonic in_After the Fall_ with Ólafsson (February 4–6); and The Cleveland Orchestra in Slonimsky's Earbox (April 22–24). In May, he joins the Vienna Philharmonic to conduct After the Fall with Ólafsson and the Austrian premiere of Frenzy (May 22–23).

Major Opera Productions Across Europe and the US

Adams's operas take center stage in the birthday celebrations, with productions of Nixon in China and Doctor Atomic across Europe and the United States.

Nixon in China returns to Washington National Opera in a new production directed by Elkhanah Pulitzer, starring Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson as Pat and Richard Nixon, with Robert Spano conducting (November 14–21). The opera is also presented by the Hungarian State Opera in Budapest (November 20–24), Deutsche Oper Berlin in a revival of its production by Hauen und Stechen (January 7–30), and Pacific Symphony in Costa Mesa (April 8–13). The season culminates with performances at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, conducted by Kent Nagano and featuring Fleming and Hampson (June 26–July 13).

Doctor Atomic receives two major European stagings during Adams's birthday month: a new production at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, directed by Claus Guth and conducted by Gemma New (February 4–15, July 5–8), and the Swiss premiere at Opernhaus Zürich, directed by Vanessa Beecroft and conducted by Elim Chan (February 7–28). Further productions follow at Opera San José in California (February 14–28) and Staatstheater Mainz in Germany (June 13–24).

Adams's music also features in major dance productions, including the Paris Opera Ballet performing Jean-Christophe Maillot's choreography to Fearful Symmetries in October and November, and the Staatsballett Berlin reviving Christian Spuck's choreography to the same work beginning February 12.

California Celebrations and New Music

In Adams's home state of California, the Berkeley-based composer is celebrated by two orchestras with longstanding ties to his music. The San Francisco Symphony presents three Adams programs, including Marin Alsop conducting the West Coast premiere of The Rock You Stand On (January 22–24) and The Dharma at Big Sur with electric violinist Tracy Silverman (June 17–18), accompanied by new visuals of California landscapes by artist Deborah O'Grady.

At the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where Adams serves as Creative Chair, the composer conducts a program drawing on his operatic and orchestral repertoire, including Doctor Atomic Symphony, choruses from The Death of Klinghoffer, and excerpts from Nixon in China and El Niño, featuring Julia Bullock, John Moore, and Will Liverman (April 16–18). The orchestra also presents the world premiere of Dolce Pianissimo on its Green Umbrella concert (March 16), featuring clarinetist Boris Allakhverdyan.

International Orchestral Highlights

The season further highlights the international reach of Adams's recent compositions. Semyon Bychkov champions Frenzy with leading orchestras including the Bamberg Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, with performances across Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Italy. Pianist Víkingur Ólafsson brings After the Fall to audiences on three continents, including its Australian premiere with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under Lawrence Renes (March 17–20), and performances with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Edward Gardner (April 15–16). Other highlights include the Asian premiere of The Rock You Stand On with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop (April 16–17), and its German premiere with the hr-Sinfonieorchester in Frankfurt (June 3–4).

Across the season, Adams's music is also performed by the New York Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, and many others.

Photo: Toru Hasumi

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