By Robert Croan
Florida Grand Opera has a real winner in its revival of Kevin Puts’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Silent Night, which opened at Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center on Nov. 15, and will be repeated in Fort Lauderdale’s Broward Center on Dec. 4 and 6.
Commissioned and premiered by Minnesota Opera in 2011, Puts’s opera is based on a real World War I event that inspired the 2005 film, Joyeux Noel. The expertly put-together libretto by Mark Campbell depicts a single night of truce among the Scottish, French and German troops on Christmas Eve 1914, after which the killing resumed for the next four years. It’s also linguistically unique, for having each of the characters declaim in their own language — English, French, German, Italian, plus some Latin when the Scottish priest utters his prayers.
Puts’s dissonant sounds of war contrast tellingly with lush Puccinian vocal lines in which the characters express their inner feelings — only occasionally, however, in excerptable arias. An ersatz Mozartean duet opens the work with a stage-within-a-stage opera performance in Berlin. Bagpipes and folksongs allow the Scots to parade their identity, while a rich orchestral palette, with a touch of John Williams-influenced movie music, underlines Puts’s sensitively written vocal phrases.
Most powerful of all are the manifold choral frescoes, impeccably prepared by Jared Peroune, and effectively choreographed in the fight scenes by Rick Sordelet and Christian Kelly-Sordelet. Christopher Allen conducted with proficiency and acuity, always in control of the score’s intricacies and the complicated correlation between stage and pit.
Director Tomer Zvulum handled large groups on stage deftly, making cogent use of Erhard Rom’s vertical set, which allowed simultaneous action for the three armies on its three levels, along with projections that make the horrors of war up close and personal. The tableau that closed the first act was striking and memorable.
The opera’s central characters are the officers who broker the truce and come to pay for it by punishments from their commanding officers. Kameron Lopreore’s focused, lyrical tenor embodied well the German opera singer, Nikolaus Sprink, who is unwillingly enlisted into the battle on what he eventually decides is the wrong side. Elijah William Brown’s more dramatic tenor sound and ringing high notes were just fierce enough to convince us of the Scotsman’s gnawing hatred of the Germans who killed his younger brother early on.
Baritone Alex DeSocio was vocally and physically commanding as the French Lieutenant Audebert, showing a softer side in his longing for his pregnant wife (a small role, enacted by Catherine Meza). A most affecting moment for him came in the second scene, recalling his fallen comrades along with his own fears and dreads.
In a class of his own was Elliot Madore, as Audebert’s aide-de-camp, Ponchel — a crucial character whose pointless death near the end underscores the futility of war. With his gorgeous baritone sound and strong stage persona, Madore achieved the most vivid individual characterization — notably in his aria of reminiscence about drinking coffee with his mother.
The opera’s only significant female character is Anna Sorensen, the operatic and personal partner of tenor Sprink. Sarah Joy Miller looked appropriately glamorous, and acted persuasively. Despite a weak middle range and some sour high notes in Act I, she delivered her second act scena of determination (to join Nikolaus on the front lines) with conviction.
Among the large cast, the trio of officers condemning the truce (Craig Irvin, James Mancuso, William Dopp) made their ensemble scene a highlight, while Mark Diamond (Father Palmer) and Kyle Albertson (Lt. Horstmayer) contributed competently in their brief solo turns.
SILENT NIGHT can be seen Dec. 4 and 6 at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW 5th Ave., Fort Lauderdale. For tickets and details, visit fgo.org or call 800-741-1010.
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