"Silent Night," the 2011 opera by composer Kevin Puts and librettist Mark Campbell, makes its East-Coast debut on Friday, Feb. 8, with the Opera Company of Philadelphia.
Set during World War I, it tells the true story of Christmas Eve 1914 when, on the Belgian Front, Scottish, French, and German soldiers laid aside arms for a night in defiance of their officers' orders.
During Christmas Eve and Christmas Day of that year, soldiers enforced an unofficial truce, meeting together on the fields between trenches, exchanging food and gifts, singing carols, and jointly burying their dead.
The opera is based on Christian Carion's film, "Joyeux Noël," which was nominated in 2006 for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Puts received the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Music for his adaptation.
The Opera Company of Philadelphia's production stars tenor William Burden as an opera singer turned soldier, and Kelly Kaduce as his love. It is directed by Tony-nominee Eric Simonson.
"Silent Night" runs from Feb. 8-17, but it is open only for five performances. Tickets are available online through the Opera Company of Philadelphia's website.
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