San Diego Opera's Season Continues With A Holiday Concert Singalong And Drive-In Film Presentation Of ALL IS CALM

San Diego Opera has announced the continuation of its 2020-2021 season with a drive-in filmed encore presentation of the 2018 SDO production of All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 on Monday, December 21, 2020 at 7 PM at the Del Mar Fairgrounds parking lot (2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd.). Prior to the screening of the film will be a live concert of holiday favorites starring members of the San Diego Opera Chorus including a singalong that patrons can enjoy from the comfort and safety of their own car.

This family-friendly a capella opera tells the story of the Christmas truce of 1914, when soldiers from France, the United Kingdom, and Germany ventured from their trenches into no-man's land to share food and exchange gifts on or around the Christmas holiday. Most interactions ended with the singing of Christmas carols and fighting resumed the next day.

Created by Theater Latté Da's artistic director, Peter Rothstein, with musical arrangements by Erick Lichte and Timothy C. Takach, All Is Calm is a retelling of firsthand accounts of this truce and uses Christmas carols, patriotic tunes, trench songs, and spoken text from the letters and diaries of soldiers. Told through the unparalleled medium of the human voice, All Is Calm explores the universal desire for humanity, peace, and comradery, and what we can achieve when we work together.

"When we produced All Is Calm in 2018, the audience response was overwhelming, and we've received requests to produce it again since then. Although current safety protocols in response to COVID-19 make it impossible for us to produce it live now, I'm thrilled to be able to share a beautifully filmed performance from 2018 with our audiences," shares David Bennett, San Diego Opera's General Director. "Preceded by live holiday music favorites with members of the San Diego Opera chorus in a sing-along format, this is guaranteed a unique, fun and moving holiday experience for the whole family."

Since the emergence of COVID-19 San Diego Opera has continued to closely monitor the recommendations of public health and government officials and realized that a traditional season in a traditional theatre is impossible to contemplate right now. Based on the successes of San Diego Opera's drive-in La bohème, the Company developed this alternative plan for presenting All Is Calm. Like La bohème, patrons will remain in their cars for the duration of the performance and socially distanced protocols will be enforced should the patron need to briefly leave their vehicle. Patrons will be able to listen to the audio through their car stereo which will be broadcast via an FM transmitter.

The 2018 production was a co-production with Bodhi Tree Concerts and SACRA/PROFANA and was built and owned by San Diego Opera. It was filmed for live televised broadcast by KPBS. It was directed by Alan E. Hicks and conducted by Juan Carlos Acosta and features costume design by Denitsa Bliznakova and lighting by Anne E. McMills. San Diego Opera's Tim Wallace was the set designer. The dialect coach was Vanessa Dinning.

The ensemble cast of male voices are tenors Jon Keenan, Chad Frisque, Alexis Alfaro, Timothy Simpson, Bernardo Bermudez, Daniel Moyer, Victor Morris; baritones Michael Sokol, Anthony Whitson-Martini, Andrew Konopak, Jonathan Nussman, Matthew Fallesen; and basses Shelby Condray, Joshua Arky, Walter DuMelle, and Christopher Stevens.

Please visit https://www.sdopera.org/season/2020-2021-season/all-is-calm for more information or to purchase tickets.

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