A stirring opera that recounts the true story of a spontaneous cease-fire among Scottish, French and Germans during World War I, displaying versatility of style and cutting straight to the heart. Silent Night is in two acts by composer Kevin Puts and librettist Mark Campbell, based on the 2005 film Joyeux Noël, directed by Christian Carion and produced by Nord-Ouest Production. Commissioned by Minnesota Opera with co-producer Opera Company of Philadelphia, it opened on November 12, 2011 at the Ordway Theater, St. Paul Minnesota to great critical acclaim and standing-room-only houses for the entirety of its run. The opera is sung in English, German, French, Italian and Latin.
Watch a Feature about the Minnesota Opera Production:
ORIGINAL PRODUCTION TEAM
| Conductor | Michael Christie |
| Director | Eric Simonson |
| Set Design | Francis O’Connor |
| Lighting | Marcus Dilliard |
| Costumes | Kärin Kopischke |
| Projections | Andrzej Goulding |
ORIGINAL CAST
THE GERMAN SIDE
| Nikolaus Sprink, an opera singer | William Burden |
| Anna Sørensen, his lover | Karin Wolverton |
| Lieutenant Horstmayer | Craig Irvin |
| Kronprinz, son of Kaiser Wilhelm II | A. J. Glueckert |
THE SCOTTISH SIDE
| Jonathan Dale | John Robert Lindsey |
| William Dale, his brother | Michael Nyby |
| Father Palmer | Troy Cook |
| Lieutenant Gordon | Gabriel Preisser |
| The British Major | Joseph Beutel |
THE FRENCH SIDE
| Lieutenant Audebert | Liam Bonner |
| Ponchel, his aide-de-camp | Andrew Wilkowske |
| The General | Ben Wager |
| Madeleine, Lt. Audebert’s wife | Angela Mortellaro |
German, Scottish and French soldiers
ORCHESTRATION
3 flutes (2, 3 doubling piccolo)
2 oboes
English horn in F
3 clarinets in B-flat (all doubling clarinet in A; 2. doubling E-flat clarinet, 3. doubling bass clarinet in B-flat)
2 bassoons
contrabassoon
4 horns in F
3 trumpets in C
2 trombones,
bass trombone
tuba
timpani
3 percussion
piano doubling celesta (may be performed on a single keyboard)
harp
harmonica
bagpipes
onstage string quartet
strings
REDUCED ORCHESTRATION
2 flutes (both doubling piccolo)
2 oboes (2nd doubling english horn)
2 clarinets in B-flat (both doubling clarinet in A; 2nd doubling E-flat clarinet, and bass clarinet)
2 bassoons (2nd doubling contrabassoon)
4 horns in F
3 trumpets in C
2 trombones,
bass trombone
timpani
3 percussion
piano doubling celesta (may be performed on a single keyboard)
harp
harmonica
bagpipes
onstage string quartet
strings
PRODUCTIONS
- Minnesota Opera (Nov. 2011)
- Opera Company of Philadelphia (Feb. 2013)
- Fort Worth Opera (May 2014)
- Cincinnati Opera (July 2014)
- Wexford Festival Opera (Oct.-Nov. 2014)
- Calgary Opera (Nov. 2014)
- Lyric Opera of Kansas City (Feb.-March 2015)
- Opera de Montreal (May 2015)
- Atlanta Opera (Nov. 2016)
- Michigan Opera Theatre (Nov. 2016)
- Opera San Jose (Feb. 2017)
- Piedmont Opera (Oct. 2017)
- Glimmerglass Festival (July 2018)
- University of Kentucky Opera Theatre (Nov. 2018)
- Washington National Opera (Nov. 2018)
- Minnesota Opera (Nov. 2018)
- Buffalo Opera Unlimited (Nov. 2018)
- University of British Columbia (Nov. 2018)
- Opera North (Nov. 2018)
- Austin Opera (Jan. 2019)
- Arizona Opera (March 2019)
- Utah Opera (Jan. 2020)
LICENSING
To inquire about licensing Silent Night for performance, please fill out a request here.
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