Opera Wednesday

Over the years I think all of us here at In Other Words have at one time or another talked about how we should look to underperformed operas of the past before we start commissioning new operas (and, by the way, using precious dollars to do so). Obviously, that doesn't mean we should never commision new works, and in fact some of those new works can be pretty good. Unfortunately, too many of them go through a grand opening series, get performed in a few cities, and then disappear forever.

One of the operas that hasn't met that fate is Silent Night, the 2012 Pulitzer Prize-winning opera by composer Kevin Puts and librettist Mark Campbell, which tells the story of the 1914 World War I Christmas cease-fire. It's early, but Silent Night does show every indication of becoming a regular part of the contemporary opera repetoirie, with performances at least more frequently than many other newly commissioned works.

This clip, the conclusion to Act I, is from a 2013 performance at the Minnesota Opera, where Silent Night had its world premiere. The soloist is Karin Wolverton.