Kevin Puts's Pulitzer Prize-winning Opera SILENT NIGHT To Be Performed By Nine Companies This Season

Kevin Puts's Silent Night, winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize in Music with libretto by Mark Campbell, will be performed throughout the 2018-19 concert season by multiple ensembles in commemoration of the centennial of the signing of the armistice of WWI.

The opera has already been performed throughout July and August at the Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown, NY, and eight other leading opera companies across three different countries are scheduled to perform Silent Night in the coming year. A new orchestral suite, commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony and co-commissioned by the Indianapolis and St. Louis Symphonies, will be premiered in October of 2018 and performed again in May of 2019.

Commissioned by Minnesota Opera with co-producer Opera Philadelphia, Silent Night premiered in 2011 and received widespread critical acclaim throughout its original run. The opera is based on the true story of momentary, holiday peace on Christmas Eve between Scottish, French, and German soldiers, and includes songs in English, German, French, Italian, and Latin.

Featuring selections from Silent Night, the San Francisco Symphony commissioned a new orchestral suite which will be premiered on October 25, 2018 with conductor Cristian M?celaru on the podium. Near the end of the 2018-19 concert season, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (co-commissioner) will also perform the suite.

In tandem with the November anniversary of the armistice, Minnesota Opera will re-stage Silent Night with Eric Simonson as director, and Washington National Opera will unveil a chamber orchestration under the direction of Tomer Zvulun. The full opera will also be performed by both the University of British Columbia Opera, featuring members of the Canadian Armed Forces, and the University of Kentucky School of Music Opera Theatre.

In late November and early December, the opera will have its UK premiere with Opera North of Leeds, conducted by Nicholas Kok and directed by Tim Albery, and will also be performed by Buffalo Opera Unlimited. Silent Night will continue to be performed in 2019 with its January regional debut by Austin Opera, produced by Tomer Zvulun, and March performances in both Phoenix and Tucson by Arizona Opera.

October 25-27, 2018 | San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Symphony
Cristian M?celaru, conductor
Puts: Suite from Silent Night (World Premiere)

November 3-9, 2018 | Vancouver, BC Canada
University of British Columbia Opera
Leslie Dala, conductor; Featuring members of Vancouver Opera Orchestra; Nancy Hermiston, director
Puts: Silent Night

November 9-11 | Lexington, KY
University of Kentucky Opera Theatre
Richard Gammon, director
Puts: Silent Night

November 10-18 | St. Paul, MN
Minnesota Opera
Courtney Lewis, conductor; Eric Simonson, director
Puts: Silent Night

November 10-25 | Washington, DC
Washington National Opera
Nicole Paiement, conductor; Tomer Zvulun, director
Puts: Silent Night

November 30 - December 7 | Leeds, UK (Leeds Town Hall)
Opera North, Nicholas Kok, conductor; Tim Albery, director
Puts: Silent Night (UK Premiere)

November 30 & December 2 | Buffalo, NY
Buffalo Opera Unlimited
Matt Marco, conductor; Featuring men from the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus
Puts: Silent Night

January 26 - February 3 | Austin, TX
Austin Opera
Timothy Myers, conductor; Tomer Zvulun, production; Conor Hanratty, director
Puts: Silent Night

March 1-3 | Phoenix, AZ
Arizona Opera
Joseph Mechavich, conductor; Michael Shell, director
Puts: Silent Night

March 9-10 | Tucson, AZ
Arizona Opera
Joseph Mechavich, conductor; Michael Shell, director
Puts: Silent Night

May 11 | Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra
Krzysztof Urba?ski, conductor
Puts: Suite from Silent Night (Co-Commission)

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