and The School District of Philadelphia Present

Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell’s

Final Dress Rehearsal Wednesday, February 6, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. at the Academy of Music

SILENT NIGHT

OperaThe Opera Company of Philadelphia believes the family is the most important foundation to

learning. Let your kitchen table become a classroom where your children can build their knowledge ofopera and the humanities. As you join in the teaching and learning process with your children, watchtheir eyes sparkle. Opera is a communal celebration, so too should be your children’s education.

Pennsylvania’s standards in education call for students to demonstrate what they know and areable to do and children need to share what they have discovered or learned. Thus, the title of our programis Sounds of Learning™. It reflects our belief that children must actively be engaged in sharing ideas.

The Sounds of Learning™ workbook and teacher guide will integrate with the local core curriculum in many ways. Just as opera is a uniquely integrated art, combining orchestra, voice, literature, drama, and dance, Sounds of Learning™ is an interdisciplinary, student-centered program. Thegoal of the Active Learning sections is to have your children engaged in the process of self-teaching. They will be able to show how they have gained insights into their learning by drawing, writing, and discussing the issues most relevant to them. In this way, students demonstrate what theycan do with what they know.

In reading the libretto, or script, we suggest that you and your family members take turns reading particular roles. Dr. Ellen Winner of Harvard’s Project Zero found that “drama helps to build verbal skills that transfer to new materials,” and helps improve not only students’ reading skills but also“oral and written language development.” (Journal of Aesthetic Education, v34, #3/4, Fall/Winter, 2000.)

In preparing for the opera, we suggest you visit the Opera Company of Philadelphia’s websitefor links to online videos, artist interviews and more on this opera. We are grateful to librettist MarkCampbell for permitting the inclusion of his libretto in this guide.

Goals and Objectives of Sounds of Learning™• Improve literacy achievement by using the opera’s libretto to teach lessons across the curriculum• Understand the plot, characters, and their motivations of the opera• Learn something about the composer and others involved in writing the opera• Make a connection to the historic and social context of the story• Know some key musical elements, recognize certain melodies, differentiate between voices• Understand the role music plays in expressing emotions and heightening the dramatic experience• Understand the various elements of producing opera and the functions of those involved;

e.g. conductor, director, set designer, technical crew, etc.• Develop the ability to make inferences about the opera, production, and performance• Relate incidents in the opera to those of the present day

Best Practices in Arts Education is sponsored by Pennsylvania Alliance for Arts Education,Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

A Family Guide to

Contents Opera 101: Getting Ready for the Opera

2 Tips for Your Trip3 Philadelphia’s Academy of Music4 The Then and Now of Opera5 Opera - Online!6 The Language of Opera7 GAME: Connect the Opera Terms

Relating Opera to History: The Culture Connection8 Turning a Movie into Silent Night9 What in the World? Historic and Cultural Events of 1914

10 The Chrismas Truce12 Trench Warfare

Libretto and Production Information14 Silent Night: Synopsis15 Silent Night: Libretto

Additional Lessons37 Opera Online!

Glossary 38

Tabl

e of

Check out our website for additional content! Here you’ll find more informationon the opera, its themes, lessons, and links to even more fascinating material.See page 37 for more details.

Tips for Your Trip

You may notice several computer monitors anda large table spread out over the seats in the centerof the first floor of the auditorium. Seated in this areais the production team: Director, Assistant Director,Costume Designer, Lighting Designer, and SetDesigner, among others. They’ll be taking notes andcommunicating via headsets with the many peoplebackstage who help make all of the operatic magichappen. They’ll be able to talk to the crew sochanges can be made right away. Should things goeswrong, the rehearsal might be stopped or a partrepeated to make sure that it is perfect.

SHOW SOME R.E.S.P.E.C.T.Unlike actors on television or in the movies, performers onstage are very aware of the audience.They want to share their love of performing withyou. Everything you do in the audience affects what happens on stage. You can show them how muchyou appreciate their work and the opportunity tocome to the rehearsal by being as quiet as possible.Show your respect for the cast, musicians, the productionteam, and everyone in the theater by not talking. Give theartists and the production your full attention!

ACTIVE LEARNING The picture on this page shows several patrons and famousopera characters on their way to attend an opera at the theater. Now picture yourself in their shoes. On a separate piece ofpaper, write a story as if you are one of these people. Thinkabout your trip to the performance. What will the opera belike? You may want to mention going to the Academy of Musicor attending the opera. What will you wear? How will you andyour classmates act? At what time will you meet your classmates? How many classmates will attend? Will you have aspecial dinner before the opera? If so, where? Will the opera beexciting and entertaining? Share your thoughts here and compare your stories with your classmates.

Here’s a list of DOs and DON’Ts so that everyone in the theater can enjoy the opera:

Please Do...› Use the bathrooms before the rehearsal begins or

at intermission.

› Enter and exit the theater in an orderly fashion.

› Turn off your cell phones and all electronic devices.

› Applaud after the arias; you can shout “Bravo!” for the men and “Brava!” for the women.

› Enjoy the rehearsal. You’ve worked too hard preparing for the rehearsal not to!

Don’t Forget...› No food, gum or beverages are allowed inside the

theater.

› Photographs or video footage may not be taken duringthe performance.

› No talking or whispering during the performance.

› No shoving, jumping, running, or spitting in the theater.

› Please obey the theater ushers and staff.

› Keep all objects to yourself. If you throw something, you might hurt someone and cause a disruption in the rehearsal. It is grounds for removal from the auditorium.

› MAKE YOUR SCHOOL PROUD!

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There’s nothing as exciting as attending an opera in theAcademy of Music. You’ll be a guest at the final dress

rehearsal of Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell’s Silent Night.Here’s what you’ll need to know about attending the opera!

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Philadelphia’s

Academy of Music

The Academy ofMusic’s restored chandelier.Photo by Michael Bolton

You will attend the operaat Philadelphia’s Academy ofMusic, which is the country’soldest grand opera house still

used for its original purpose - performing opera! It isa very grand opera house with a huge chandelierhanging from the ceiling. Its four-level design wasbased on the famous La Scala opera house in Milan,Italy.

Finding the money to build an opera house inPhiladelphia was difficult, but enough money wasraised by 1854. On October 13th a plot of land wasbought on the corner of Broad and Locust Streetsto build the opera house.

In the fall of 1854 fifteen architects entered acompetition to see who would design the Academy.On February 12, 1855, the team of Gustav Rungéand Napoleon le Brun won the contest, whichincluded a $400 prize, or about $150,000 today!Within four months, the ground-breaking took place.The project was so important that PresidentFranklin Pierce, along with the governor andmayor, laid the cornerstone on July 26, 1855.

The Academy opened on January 26, 1857with a Grand Ball and Promenade Concert. The firstopera presented in the brand new opera house wasGiuseppe Verdi’s Il trovatore on February 25, 1857.Two of many operatic highlights throughout the theater’s history include the American premiere ofCharles Gounod’s opera Faust on November 18,1863 and a performance of Giacomo Puccini’sMadama Butterfly on February 14, 1907, with the composer in attendance.

Numerous presidents have visited theAcademy, including Ulysses S. Grant, TheodoreRoosevelt, and Richard Nixon. Prince Charles ofWales visited the Academy in 2007. Thousands ofworld-famous performers have also appeared on itsstage, like Peter Tchaikovsky, SergeiRachmaninoff, George Gershwin, Igor Stravinsky,Arturo Toscanini, Marian Anderson, MariaCallas, and Luciano Pavarotti.

The Academy was made a RegisteredNational Historic Landmark in 1963. Since thattime, a few improvements have been made to itsstructure. The “Twenty-First Century Project”,begun in 1996, replaced the stage floor, rigging sys-tem, and restored the historic ceiling. During 2008,

the famous chandelier was rebuilt to how it lookedin 1857. All of these renovations have helped theAcademy remain as grand as ever. We hope you findit grand as well!

Academy of Music Facts› The auditorium seats 2,897; 14 columns support the Academy’s tiers; the auditorium is encased within a three footthick solid brick wall.

› The Academy Chandelier is 25 feet high, 50 feet in circumference, almost 17 feet in diameter, and 3,500 poundsin weight. It has 23,000 crystals on it, which, if laid out, couldreach from Broad Street to Rittenhouse Square and back.

› The red and gold pattern on the Academy’s stage curtain simulates that of a pineapple, a Victorian-era symbolfor “welcome.”

› The first-ever indoor football game was held on theAcademy’s Parquet level on March 7, 1889 between theUniversity of Pennsylvania and Riverton Club of Princeton. Athalftime, tug-of-war matches were held as entertainment.

› 1,600 people attended the first-ever motion picture screening on February 5, 1870. The audience saw a coupledancing, a gymnastics routine and more during the silent film.

› Air conditioning was installed in 1959.

› There was no elevator for the general public in the Academy until 1990!

For more information on the Academy of Music, go to thelibrary and take out Within These Walls, by John FrancisMarion or go online to www.academyofmusic.org.

President Franklin Pierce1804-1869

The Then and Now of

Opera4

Theatrical performances that use music, song and danceto tell a story can be found in many cultures. Opera isjust one example of music drama.

These theaters had elaboratestage machinery to create special effects like flying actorsor crumbling buildings. Noteveryone embraced the new form of theater. Somecritics thought that all of the stage antics in operadetracted from the music and drama. Some peopleeven believed that seeing too much comedy in operacould make you immoral!

During the Baroque period (about 1600 to1750), Italian opera spread all over Europe. TheItalian style of opera was so popular that even non-Italians wrote in this style. For example GeorgeFrederic Handel (1685–1759) was a German-borncomposer who lived and worked in England. Hisoperas, like Julius Caesar (1724), were written in theItalian language and used an Italian style of music. Theonly nation to create its’ own national operatic stylewas France. Ballet played a large role in the Frenchculture, and operas often included ballets in the mid-dle of the opera. The most famous French Baroqueopera composers were Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) and Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764).

The eighteenth century was full of change forboth Europe and opera. This time period was knownas the Age of Enlightenment. People were starting totalk about new forms of government and organizationin society, especially the ever-growing middle class.Music displayed this new thinking as composersdropped the Baroque era’s complicated musical stylefor simpler, more emotional music. In less-flashymusic, characters could express their thoughts andfeelings more believably. One of the first operas touse this new style was Christoph WillibaldGluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice (1762).

In 1776 the American Revolution changedthe world. A few years later the French had theirown revolution (1789) and the first modern democ-racies were born. To match the times in which theywere created, audiences wanted to see characters likethemselves on stage, not gods and goddesses. Theyalso wanted to see issues that were important tothem. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Marriage ofFigaro (1786) featured a timely story of aristocraticclass struggles that had both servants and nobility inlead roles. The ideals of the Enlightenment also cameto the stage in Ludwig van Beethoven‘s only opera,Fidelio, a story about equality and freedom.

Have you ever wondered where opera got itsstart? Back in the late 1500s during the height of theRenaissance, a group of men called the FlorentineCamerata got together to create a new and moving theatrical experience. They wanted to recreate whatthe ancient Greeks did during their legendary dramas.The result was something entirely new – opera!

Most of the early operas were based on Greekmyths. The first opera that we know of was calledDafne by Jacopo Peri in 1598, but the most famousopera of this early period that is still performed todayis Claudio Monteverdi’s Orfeo (1607). Certain basicingredients were included in opera: songs, instrumentalaccompaniments, costumes, dance, and scenery. Westill use all of these ingredients today!

The early operas were first performed in thegrand courts of Italian nobility, but soon operabecame popular with the public, too. As it becameall the rage, productions became more lavish! Soon,theaters began to be built just to mount operas.

Claudio Monteverdi1567-1643

Top: mezzo-soprano Ruxandra Donose as the hero in Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice; Above: Prisoners in their cells in Jun Kaneko’s production of Beethoven’s Fidelio.

5

In the 1800s opera continued to grow. TheItalian tradition continued in the bel canto movement, which literally translates to “beautifulsinging”. These operas asked performers to sing complicated groups of fast notes in the melodies. Themost famous bel canto composers were GioachinoRossini (1792–1868), Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848), and Vincenzo Bellini (1801–1835). Theiroperas, like Rossini’s popular comedies The Barber ofSeville (1816) and Cinderella (1817), are still some of themost popular operas performed today.

By the middle of the century, the RomanticMovement led many composers to champion theirown national identities. As a result, operas in languages other than Italian became more common;new works often reflected pride in a country’s people, history, and folklore. German operas likeCarl Maria von Weber’s Der Freischütz (1821),Russian operas like Mikhail Glinka’s A Life for theTsar (1836) and French operas like GiacomoMeyerbeer’s Les Huguenots (1836) started to be performed across Europe. By using nationalism inhis operas like Nabucco (1842), Italian GiuseppeVerdi became a national hero. In Germany RichardWagner took Romanticism to the extreme in a four-part operatic miniseries based on Norse mythology,The Ring of the Nibelung (1876), which takes over 15hours to perform! The operatic stereotype of thesinger in the Viking helmet comes from these operas.

Opera in twentieth century became even moreexperimental. Composers like Giacomo Puccini (Labohème, 1896), Claude Debussy (Pelléas et Mélisande,1902), Richard Strauss (Salome, 1905), andBenjamin Britten (Peter Grimes, 1945) evolved theirnational styles. Others, horrified by the destructionof World War I (1914-1919) and other aspects ofmodern life, created music that was new and drastically dissonant. These operas often exploredeither dark psychological topics (Wozzeck by AlbanBerg, 1925), or simple and absurd (The Rake’s Progress

by Igor Stravinsky, 1951). Americanopera had a huge hit with Georgeand Ira Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess(1935) which included jazz andblues musical styles. Not only didAmerican composers embrace popular music in opera but also arepetitive, hypnotic style calledminimalism. American composerPhilip Glass’s Einstein on the Beach(1976) is the popular example ofminimalism in opera.

Today, opera is still growingand expanding. The Opera

Company of Philadelphia helps to shape the futureof opera by producing important new works likeRichard Danielpour and Toni Morrison’s slavery-inspired Margaret Garner (2005), Osvaldo Golijov’sflamenco-themed Ainadamar (2003), and HansWerner Henze’s Phaedra (2007), whichinterprets Greek mythology through theeyes of a World War II survivor. In 2012the Opera Company of Philadelphia presented Nico Muhly’s Dark Sisters(2011) which is set in the AmericanSouthwest explores the lives of a groupof women who live in a polygamist community.

Although opera is one of the oldest musical artforms, it still remains and expands today. From theold favorites to the new experimental works operacontinues to be a moving art form of the people.

ACTIVE LEARNING1. Chose a composer noted above and research two

other operas by that composer.

2. Can you find the story of the Greek myth Daphne?

3. How did Lully die?

4. What does the acronym Verdi stand for inthe phrase Viva Verdi?

Right: Act II finaleif Puccini’s Labohème*

Below: SopranoCaitlin Lynch inNico Muhly’s DarkSisters*

Bottom: DenyceGraves and GreggBaker in Danielpourand Morrison’sMargaret Garner.

*photos, Kelly & Massa

6

Act - main sections of a play or opera

Aria - a solo song sung in an opera

Audience - people who watch a performance and sit in the “house” orauditorium

Ballet - dance set to music within in an opera

Blocking - action on stage

Character - person who is part of the opera’s story

Chorus - music composed for a group of singers or the name of a group ofsingers in an opera

Conductor - person who rehearses and leads the orchestra

Duet - a song performed by 2 singers

Orchestra - a group of musicians who play together on various musical instruments

Overture - a piece of instrumental music played at the beginning of an opera

Program - booklet that contains information about the opera, composer,performers, the opera company, and includes advertisements

Recitative - words that are sung in the rhythm of natural speech - a bitlike the 18th century version of rap

Rehearsal - time when singers/actors practice with or without the orchestra; time when musicians practice together with the conductor

Scene - segments of action within the acts of an opera

Types of Singers:

Soprano - highest pitched female voice

Mezzo-soprano - lower pitched female voice

Tenor - highest pitched male voice

Baritone - male voice between tenor and bassBass - lowest pitched male voice

The Language of Opera

7

Connect the

Opera Terms1. Opera Seria

2. Baritone

3. Opera

4. Ballet

5. Orchestra

6. Libretto

7. Duet

8. Aria

9. Soprano

10.Chorus

11.Act

12.Contralto

13.Tenor

14.Opera Buffa

15.Recitative

16.Bass

17.Overture

18.Verismo

A. Dance spectacle set to music.

B. Highest pitched woman’s voice.

C. Dramatic text adapted for opera.

D. Low female voice.

E. Comic opera.

F. A drama or comedy in which music is the essential factor; very little is spoken.

G. Opera with dramatic and intense plots.

H. Music composed for a singing group.

I. A composition written for two performers.

J. A group of musicians who play together on various musical instruments.

K. Highest pitched man’s voice.

L. A musical style used in opera and oratorio, inwhich the text is declaimed in the rhythm ofnatural speech with slight melodic variation.

M. Male voice between bass and tenor.

N. A piece of music originally designed to be played before an opera or musical play.

O. The term describing the realistic or naturalistic school of opera that flourished briefly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; libretti werechosen to depict a ‘slice of life’.

P. Deepest male voice.

Q. Elaborate solo in an opera or oratorio.

R. Main division of a play or opera.

more and morelyrical over theyears, so it wasn'ttoo much of astretch.”

He also said that one of the hardest parts of writingthis opera was having to compose music for a libretto written in five languages: German, French and English forthe three armies, Italian for the opera-within-an-operascene, and Latin during the religious scenes. "Getting myhead around the language was the biggest challenge of theopera," he said. In an interview with Opera News magazine (November 2011) he commented, “The Germanwas the worst. I don't know German at all." Mary Dibbern,former Head of Music at Minnesota Opera was a huge helpto Kevin, who, he added, "put marks on the libretto wherethe stresses are. Then I would read it to myself over andover. I really had to get it into my head, so it would just flowmusically."

The opera had its premiere at Minnesota Opera inNovember 2011 at the Ordway Center in Minneapolis. Theopening night reviews were unanimous raves! Opera Newsmagazine said, “The opening night ovation for Silent Nightwas long and clamorous, the loudest acclaim fittinglyreserved for composer Kevin Puts. It is Puts’ first operaand… With this remarkable debut, Puts assumes the centralplace in the American opera for your moment. Much will beexpected from him.”

Earlier this year it was announced that the opera wonthe extremely prestigious Pulitzer Prize for music. Pulitzerofficials called Silent Night "a stirring opera that recounts thetrue story of a spontaneous cease-fire among Scottish, Frenchand Germans during World War I, displaying versatility ofstyle and cutting straight to the heart.”

Again in his interview for National Public Radio,Kevin said, "The first thought I had when I started writingmeasure 1 was that it is was so exciting that I wanted it togo well enough that I could write another opera," Puts says."The medium is so exciting to me." Rest assured, there areat least two new operas on the horizon for Kevin Puts andMark Campbell, including an operatic version of anotherpopular film, The Manchurian Candidate.

For more information on the opera, Kevin Puts andMark Campbell, visit www.operaphila.org.

8

Turning a Movie into

Silent NightSilent Night is the second opera in the Opera

Company of Philadelphia’s American RepertoireProgram, which began last June with Nico Muhly andStephen Karam’s Dark Sisters. Through the program, theCompany will present new American operas over the nextten seasons. The Opera Company co-produced the opera,which was commissioned by Minnesota Opera.Commissioning means that a person or organization hiressomeone to create a piece of art. In this case, MinnesotaOpera hired composer Kevin Puts and librettist MarkCampbell to write the music and words of Silent Night.Minnesota Opera’s Artistic Director Dale Johnson sawChristian Carion’s 2005 Academy Award nominated film,Joyeux Noël and thought its moving story of young soldiersfrom many walks of life stuck in a horrible war could makea very moving opera.

Kevin Puts was contacted about writing the opera,despite that he had never written an opera before. He has alarge body of works for orchestra, including four symphonies and several concertos for solo instrument andorchestra, but hadn’t written much vocal music at all. Hewas paired with acclaimed librettist and lyricist MarkCampbell, who has over 20 theatrical works to his credit.

Mark Campbell said that after seeing the film he“instantly knew it would make a great opera.” He tried toremain as faithful to it as possible, but, as he said in aYouTube interview, “An opera is an opera and a movie is amovie. A lot of the process in creating this libretto involvedjust making the story stage worthy.” He needed to cut thenumber of characters, tighten up the time and place of theaction, make sure the opera has a climactic scene for themain characters, and that the opera wouldn’t last more thantwo hours. Also, whereas there is no intermission in themovie, he had to structure the opera by adding unresolved tension to the end of Act I to help make audiences want to come back for Act II!

Working with a first time opera composer, Markchose to play to Kevin’s strengths as a wonderful orchestralcomposer and gave him dramatic moments where he couldwrite gorgeous sweeping instrumental passages for the fullorchestra. You’ll hear several such moments throughout theopera.

Writing his first opera proved to be a challenge forthe St. Louis-born composer. But now after having finishedhis first opera, Kevin says he’s found his place in writing forsingers. In an interview with National Public Radio hesaid, “I'm still learning about the voice and how to writemost idiomatically (or naturally) for it. My music has become

Kevin Puts,composer

Mark Campbell,librettist

9What in the World?

Historic and Cultural Events in 1914Listed below are some historic and cultural events that took place during 1914. Events in boldface type are items that relate to WorldWar I; an asterisk (*) indicates events of local interest. What might it have been like to be alive at this time?

January 5

January 11February 25*

February 19

March 1March 3 *

March 4April 9April 22April 23May 14 *

June 28

June 29July 28July 29August 5August 22September 1October 4October 13October 28November 13December 24

Henry Ford astounded the world as he announced that he would limit the work day to 8 hours for his auto factory workers, pay a minimum wage of $5 a day and share with employees $10 million in the previous year’s profits.

In Japan Mount Sakurajima erupted and left 58 people dead.

A Pittsburgh baker, Philip J. Baur and a Boston egg salesman, Herbert T. Morris went into business when they opened the Tasty Baking Company, later known as Tastykake.

May Pierstorff was mailed by her parents to her grandmother’s house at a parcel post rate from Grangeville, Idaho, toLewiston, Idaho, for 53 cents. She weighed less than the 50 pound parcel post limit.

Ralph Waldo Ellison, renowned African-American author who wrote one "Invisible Man," was born.

Opera singer Enrico Caruso sang his signature role as Canio in Pagliacci at the Metropolitan Opera House in Philadelphia.

Doctor Fillatre of Paris, France successfully separated Siamese twins.

The first full color film: World, Flesh & Devil was shown in London.

Babe Ruth's 1st professional game as a pitcher was a 6-hit 6-0 win.

Wrigley Field baseball stadium opened with the name Weeghman Park in Chicago.

President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation designating the second Sunday in May 1914 the first national Mother’s Day. In 1907 Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia suggested the idea of wearing carnations on the second Sunday in May to honor mothers.

Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to Austria-Hungary, and his wife, Sofia, were assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia,by a Serb nationalist.

Chionya Gusyeva attempted and failed to assassinate Grigori Rasputin at his home town in Siberia.

Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, beginning World War I.

Transcontinental telephone service began with the first phone conversation between New York and San Francisco.

The first electric traffic light was installed in Cleveland, Ohio.

In France some 27,000 soldiers died in the Battles of Mons, the bloodiest battle of French history.

Martha, the last known passenger pigeon, died at the Cincinnati Zoo.

The first German Zeppelin (blimp) raided London.

The Boston Braves won the World Series, beating the Philadelphia Athletics in a four-game sweep.

George Eastman announced the invention of the color photographic process.

The brassiere (bra), invented by Caresse Crosby, was patented by Mary Phelps Jacob

577,875 Allied soldiers spent Christmas as prisoners in Germany. World War I was only months old on Christmas Eve 1914 when an extraordinary unofficial truceoccurred in many places along the Western Front. "We were all moved and felt quitemelancholy," wrote one German soldier, "each of us taken up with his own thoughtsof home." German and English troops, often less than one hundred yards from eachother, set aside warfare to trade Christmas greetings and sing familiar carols in twolanguages. The truce, probably observed by two-thirds of the British and Germantroops, ended with the holiday, but reasserted the basic decency of ordinary menlike these British and German soldiers caught up in war.

Timeline information taken from www.timelines.ws

Babe Ruth

Group photograph showing men of the 2ndBattalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers withGerman soldiers in no man's land onBoxing Day, 1914. Photo: www.iwm.org.uk

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Imagine you are eighteen years old,a fresh faced high school graduate, excitedto enjoy your new-found freedom. You areabout to head to college, start a career andfollow your dreams, but instead you’vebeen drafted against your will into the military. Before you can protest, you findyourself stuck in a foreign country fightinga war that you were told would last just afew weeks, only by now you’ve been therefor four long months. It’s horribly cold andwet in the trenches where you spend all ofyour time, waiting and watching for theenemy. You are covered in mud from thefilth and slime that surrounds you. Your

feet are freezing, your socks are never dry, and yourentire body shivers from head to toe. To add to yourmisery, today is Christmas Eve and the only placeyou want to be is home.

In 1914, British and German soldiers along thefront lines, the so-called “Western Front,” in Francefound a moment of peace in the middle of the WorldWar I during a cold December night. The news ofthis cease fire shocked and stunned the world.Enemy soldiers laid down their weapons and joinedtogether to celebrate Christmas in the middle of thewar. The idea was outrageous and unbelievable tothe people of the enemy nations, but it was a truehistorical event. This moment in history is the inspiration for the story of our opera, Silent Night.

World War I began after the assassination ofArchduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on June 28, 1914in Sarajevo, the capital and largest city of Bosnia andHerzegovina. The western world reacted quickly andassembled opposing alliances, known as the Alliesand the Central Powers. Russian factions swept in tohelp protect the Austrians from an attack byGermany. The British came to France’s defenseagainst the Germans, since the Germans beganattacking its neighbors to the east and west.

In France, the Germans would not be foughtoff. All forces dug into the earth to create a series oftrenches where the battle would be fought. Yet, theenemies were in fact rather close to each other,sometimes even less than half the length of a footballfield in their respective trenches, close enough tohear some of the joking that the enemy soldierswould do to pass the time.

The soldiers had heard horrible things aboutthese enemies through propaganda, but who werethey exactly? From what the soldiers could hear, theenemies sounded like typical guys who liked to joke,sing songs, and pass the time in good-humoredways. Plus, there was a growing sympathy for theenemy as the soldiers on both sides were livingunder the same horrible conditions in the trenches.

Due to the fact that men from all sides sympathized with each other’s plights and were insuch close proximity, these enemies were known tofrequently interact peacefully. During daily cease-fires, soldiers from both sides would draw water inthe safe No Man’s Land. Soldiers would sometimessing songs for each other or talk about their homelands when they met near No Man’s Land.

Officials sought to end this sort of minglingand soon all friendly exchanges with the enemy werestrictly and absolutely prohibited.

As Christmas approached, soldiers’ loved onesat home sent them gifts – warm clothes, food, andcigarettes. Some even sent small Christmas trees!

On a cold Christmas Eve night, strange lightsalong the German trenches were seen by confused theBritish soldiers. They were surprised to discover thatthe hundreds of lights that lit up the night came fromdecorated Christmas trees.

The Christmas Truce

Above: A Germanand a British

soldier share acigarette duringthe ChristmasTruce of 1914.

Below: Enemysoldiers play a

game of soccer inNo Man’s Landduring the truce.

11

Soon a strain of the Christmas carol “SilentNight” could be heard coming from the Germantrenches. The British soldiers heard the German soldiers wishing each other well and singing carolsfor each other.

One soldier noted that the Germans “finishedtheir carol and we thought that we ought to retaliatein some way, so we sang “The First Noël”, and whenwe finished that they all began clapping; and thenthey struck up another favorite of theirs, “OTannenbaum”. And so it went on. First the Germanswould sing one of their carols and then we wouldsing one of ours, until when we started up “O ComeAll Ye Faithful” the Germans immediately joined insinging the same hymn to the Latin words “AdesteFidéles”. And I thought, well, this was really a mostextraordinary thing - two nations both singing thesame carol in the middle of a war.”

They declared an unofficial truce which continued through Christmas Day, and until NewYear’s Day in some spots along the front line.Enemies joined each other in No Man’s Land andshook hands, shared cigarettes, struck up a game ofsoccer, and enjoyed each other’s company like seeingan old friend. They shared pictures and stories andfound more in common than not.

There was a practical side to the truce, as well.It gave the companies time to bury their dead, someof whom had been rotting away in the trenches formonths. Enemies came together, sorted through thebodies and, in some cases, had joint ceremonies topay tribute to these fallen heroes.

The events of the truce were not reported fora week, in an unofficial press embargo which waseventually broken by the New York Times onDecember 31. The British papers quickly followed,printing numerous first-hand accounts from soldiersin the field, taken from letters home to their families,and editorials on "one of the greatest surprises of asurprising war". By January 8, pictures had madetheir way to the press, newspapers printed front-pagephotographs of British and German troops minglingand singing between the lines. The tone of thereporting was strongly positive, endorsing the lack ofmalice felt by both sides and regretting that theabsurdity and the tragedy would begin again.

This unique moment of peace would not berepeated again during the intervening years of WorldWar I which lasted until 1918.

ACTIVE LEARNING1. Write a one page story about what it would have been like to be a soldier on the front lines in France during December1914.

2. Visit Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia to witness an historical reenactment of the Christmas Truce.

3. To learn more about the Christmas Truce, visit www.firstworldwar.com.

4. There are several documentaries about The Christmas Truce, check out YouTube and Netflix and search ChristmasTruce of 1914.

Newspapers covered themiraculous Christmastruce weeks after theevent. This front pagearticle from the Britishnewspaper The DailyMirror is from January5, 1915.

12 Trench Warfare

The opposing forces during World War I usedthis strategy, called trench warfare, to attack, count-er attack, and defend. Both sides concentrated onbreaking up enemy attacks and on protecting theirown troops by digging deep into the ground.

Trench warfare involved systems of trenches,usually about 4-12 feet deep, which were neverstraight but were dug in a zigzagging or stepped pattern. The enemy trenches were usually very closeto one another, only about the length of half a football field!

As one soldier, Bruce Bairnsfather, describedhis experience during World War I: “To give a recipefor getting a rough idea [about what the trencheswere like]... Select a flat ten-acre ploughed field. Cuta zigzag slot about four feet deep and three feet widediagonally across, dam off as much water as you canso as to leave about one hundred yards of squelchymud; delve out a hole at one side of the slot, thenendeavor to live there for a month on bully beef anddamp biscuits, whilst a friend has instructions to fireat you with his Winchester [a repeating rifle] everytime you put your head above the surface.”

Building the Trenchs

A trench system may begin simply as a collection of holes hastily dug by troops. These holesmay be deepened to about six feet or more so that asoldier can safely stand up in one of them. Individualholes may be connected by shallow trenches. Fromthis beginning a system of more permanent trenchesmay be constructed.

In making a trench, soil from the digging isused to create raised parapets (a protective wall orearth defense along the top of a trench) running bothin front of and behind the trench. To allow a soldierto see out of the trench without exposing his head, aloophole could be built into the parapet. A loopholemight simply be a gap in the sandbags, or it might besurrounded by a steel plate.

Within the trench are firing positions along araised step called a fire step, and boards are placedon the often muddy bottom of the trench to make iteasier to walk on. In the trenches, troops are protected from the enemy's fire. The typical trenchsystem consisted of a series of two, three, four, ormore trench lines running parallel to each other andbeing at least one mile in length. Each of the mainlines of trenches was connected to each other and tothe rear by a series of communication trenches thatwere dug roughly perpendicular to them.

Food, ammunition, fresh troops, mail, andorders were delivered through these trenches. Theintricate network of trenches contained first-aid stations, kitchens, and a bathroom area. Mostimportantly, it had dugouts deep enough to shelterlarge numbers of defending troops during an enemyattack.

Strategy to win World War I: dig a large hole,sleep, eat and stand in it for a few weeks, shootat the enemy until they retreat, then move closerto the enemy and dig another hole, sleep, eat,

stand in it, shoot at the enemy, and continue thismethod until they retreat into the ocean.

Then you have won the battle!

Above: A soldier peers over the parapet from the fire step inthe trench.

13

No Man’s Land

The area between opposing trench lines wasknown as "no man's land". It was a very dangerousarea as any soldier in that strip of land between thefighting troups was fully exposed to fire from bothsides. Therefore, attacks, even if successful, oftencaused many deaths.

The French relied on the attack with speedand surprise. The Germans relied on firepower,investing heavily in machine guns. The Britishlacked a specific strategy, therefore used a morespontaneous “off the cuff” approach to attacks anddefenses.

Life in the Trenches

Life for the soldiers in the trenches was miserable. They could be surrounded by water andall sorts of creepy and crawly things called thewatery area home, like swimming frogs and largerats. Red slugs crawled up the side of the trenchesand strange beetles with dangerous looking hornswriggled along dry ledges and invaded the dugouts.

Because it was common to have standingwater in the trenches from hitting the water tablewhile digging them, men would frequently get something known as trench foot, where, according toone soldier, “your feet would swell to two to threetimes their normal size and go completely dead. You[could] stick a bayonet (tip of a gun) into them andnot feel a thing. If the swelling starts to go down, itis then that the most indescribable agony begins. Ihave heard men cry and scream with pain and manyhave had to have their feet and legs amputated.”

As in many other wars, World War I's greatestkiller was disease. Conditions in the trenches werequite poor, and common infections included dysentery (or diarrhea), typhus, and cholera. Manysoldiers suffered from parasites and related infections. Poor hygiene also led to fungal conditions, such as trench mouth and trench foot.Another common killer was exposure, since the temperature within a trench in the winter could easily fall below freezing.

Relatively little use was made of trenches inthe mobile warfare of World War II in Europe.Classic trench warfare reappeared in the Iran-IraqWar (1980–1988), a basically static war in whichsuch mobile weapons as tanks and aircraft were inshort supply. In the subsequent Persian Gulf War(1990–91), Iraq built an elaborate system of defensive trenches, ditches, and berms, but it wasoverwhelmed by airpower, innovative tactics, andthe demoralization of its frontline troops.

When you were younger, did you ever build afort with pillows and blankets and spend hours withyour friends playing games in your little hideaway?It’s scary to think that something so innocent is verysimilar to a war strategy called trench warfare.

ACTIVE LEARNING1. Many images of trench warfare. Find an image online and bring it in to class to discuss what conditions in the trencheswere like.

2. Draw a map of what a trench war zone would have looked like. You may want to do research online.

Right: German soldiers display some of the rats caught in thetrenches.

Above right: A soldier tries to sleep while his comrade writeshome to his family.

PROLOGUE Late Summer, 1914War is declared. At a Berlin opera house, theannouncement disrupts the careers and personal livesof international opera singers Anna Sørensen andNikolaus Sprink. In a small church in Scotland, itinspires dreams of heroism in William who demandsthat his younger brother Jonathan immediately enlistwith him, as their priest, Father Palmer, looks help-lessly on. In the apartment of the Audeberts in Paris,it angers Madeleine who criticizes her husband forleaving to fight while she is pregnant with their firstchild. Amid the fervor of nationalistic songs, the menprepare to leave for war.

ACT IIn and around a battlefield in Belgium, near the French border,around Christmas

Scene 1 – December 23, late afternoonA horrific battle is fought between the Germans andthe French and Scottish. An attempt by the Frenchand Scottish soldiers to infiltrate the German bunkerfails miserably; corpses begin to pile up in the no-man’s land between the three bunkers. WhenWilliam is shot, Jonathan must leave his brotherbehind to die.

Scene 2 – December 23, evening In the Scottish bunker, Lieutenant Gordon assessesthe casualties after the battle. Father Palmerattempts to offer solace to Jonathan in prayer.

In the French bunker, Lieutenant Audebert discoversthe French General waiting in his makeshift officewho reprimands him for surrendering and threatenshim with a transfer. The General leaves andAudebert laments the loss of his wife’s photographto his assistant, Ponchel. When he is alone,Audebert tallies the casualties in the last battle,while missing Madeleine and their child who he hasnot yet seen. He sings of needing sleep, a sentimentechoed by all of the soldiers. As it starts to snow,covering the corpses in no-man’s land, the soldiersslowly begin to sleep. Alone in the German bunker,Nikolaus, reveals to an imagined Anna his despairabout war.

Scene 3 – December 24, morningIn the German bunker, crates have arrived – and little Christmas trees from the Kronprinz. LieutenantHorstmayer criticizes the Kronprinz for not sendingthem more useful presents, like ammunition andreinforcements. He receives a directive from headquarters that Nikolaus has been ordered to singat the nearby chalet of the Kronprinz, along with oneAnna Sørensen. Nikolaus departs for the chalet,excited that he will be reunited with Anna againafter many months apart.

The French soldiers have received crates of wine,sausages and chocolates from the quartermaster andopen them jubilantly. Ponchel, a barber by trade,brings coffee to Audebert and sits him down for ahaircut. He is reminded of having coffee with hismother every morning, who lives only an hour awayby foot. The alarm clock he carries next to his heartat all times (which shielded him from a bullet in thelast battle) rings at ten o’clock every morning toremind him of their daily meeting.

In the Scottish bunker, crates of whiskey havearrived from home. Jonathan writes a letter to hismother, not mentioning his brother’s death.

Scene 4 – December 24, early evening At the chalet of the Kronprinz, Anna and Nikolausperform a duet. Following the performance, theysteal a few moments on a terrace outside. Annanotices the cruel effect war has had on her lover’sspirit. She has arranged for Nikolaus to spend thenight with her and is angry when he says he mustreturn to his fellow soldiers. She vows to accompany him back to the battlefield.

14

Silent Night

Plot Synopsis

Soldiers on the front line yearn for a good night’s sleep after a hard-fought battle.

15

Scene 5 – December 24, night In the French bunker, Gueusselin volunteers to infiltrate the German bunker, and with severalgrenades, sidles onto no-man’s land. The Scottish soldiers drink whiskey and play a bagpipe that anoth-er unit has sent them, as Father Palmer sings a sentimental ballad about home. The men in the otherbunkers hear the song and react to it with sadness,caution and annoyance. Nikolaus arrives; his fellowsoldiers greet him with cheers and applause and gaspin amazement at seeing Anna with him. When thesong in the Scottish bunker is finished, Nikolaus singsa rousing Christmas song loudly in response and midway through the bagpiper begins to accompany.Emboldened, Nikolaus stands atop the bunker raisinga Christmas tree as a gesture of friendship. Against theprotestations of their superiors, the soldiers from allbunkers stand. Nikolaus bravely moves to the centerof no-man’s land. Gueusselin abandons his plan togrenade the German bunker.

Eventually, the three lieutenants, waving a white flagof truce, agree to a cease-fire … but only on ChristmasEve. The soldiers slowly and cautiously move towardeach other. They share their provisions, their photosand their names. Anna appears and all of the soldiersare awed by the sight of a woman. Father Palmer hasset up a makeshift church and celebrates mass withthe men, while Jonathan finds his brother’s body andvows revenge. Father Palmer finishes the mass andurges the men to “go in peace” as bombs explodemenacingly in the distance.

ACT II

Scene One – December 25, dawnThe following morning, Jonathan tries to bury hisbrother. Because the truce is officially over, twoGerman sentries are prepared to shoot him, althoughFather Palmer and Lieutenant Gordon intervene.Looking on, Horstmayer proposes that it may indeed betime to bury all of the dead. The three lieutenants meetand decide over coffee that the truce will be extendeduntil after the dead in no-man’s land are buried.

Scene Two – December 25, late morning, early afternoonThe soldiers pile up the corpses, Father Palmer deliverslast rites and the soldiers form a processional bearing thewagon of bodies away. Anna looks on with Nikolausand promises that he will not suffer the same fate.

Scene Three – December 25, later that dayMeanwhile, news of the cease-fire has reached headquarters, infuriating the British Major, theKronprinz and the French General. They plan topunish the soldiers for their betrayal.

Scene Four – December 25, eveningLieutenant Horstmayer prepares to return to war andNikolaus berates him for his allegiance to theFatherland. Horstmayer arrests Nikolaus for insubor-dination, but Anna takes his hand firmly and leadshim across no-man’s land as Horstmayer orders hismen to shoot, but no one moves. Reaching the Frenchbunker unharmed, Nikolaus regains his voice anddemands asylum for he and Anna.

Scene Five – December 26, late morningThe British Major admonishes the Scottish soldiers forparticipating in the Christmas truce. They are to betransferred to the front lines. When a German soldier is seen crossing the battlefield, the Major ordershim killed. Jonathan complies and dispassionatelyshoots the man.

Lieutenant Audebert returns to his small office anddiscovers the French General there. The General tellsAudebert that he will be transferred to Verdun aspunishment for consorting with the enemy and thathis unit will be disbanded. Audebert informs theFrench General – his father – that he has learned hehas an infant son named Henri. They vow to survivethe war for the child’s sake.

The Kronprinz angrily announces that the Germansoldiers are to be deployed in Pomerania as punishment. As the soldiers are taken off in a boxcar, they hum the Scottish ballad they heard inthe bunker on Christmas Eve. The battlefield is nowcompletely empty. Snow begins to fall again.

A model of theopera’s set asdesigned by FrancisO’Connor

Photo: Minnesota Opera

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act (akt) n. one of the main divisions of a play or opera.

aggressor (uh-gres- er) n. a person or country that attacks another first.

agog (uh-gog) adj. very eager or curious to hear or see something.

allegro (uh-leg-roh) adv. musical term for fast and lively.

alto (al-toh) n. the range of the female voice between mezzo-soprano and contralto.

ammunition (am-yuh-nish-uhn) n. a supply or quantity of bullets and shells.anarchy (an-er-kee) n. 1. a state of disorder due to absence or nonrecognition of authority. 2. absence of government and absolute freedom of the individual, regarded as a political ideal.

andante (ahn-dahn-tey) adv. a musical term meaning in moderately slow time.

antagonist (an-tag-o-nist) n. an adversary or opponent of the main character or protagonist in an opera, play, or other drama.aperitif (ah-per-i-teef) n. an alcoholic drink taken before a meal to stimulate the appetite.apropos (ap-ruh-poh) adj. very appropriate to a particular situation.

aria (ahr-ee-uh) n. an operatic song for one voice.artillery (ahr-til-uh-ree) n. 1. large-caliber guns used in warfare on land: "tanks and heavy artillery" 2. a military detachment or branch of the armed forces that uses such guns.

bar (bahr) n. a division of music containing a set number of beats.

baritone (bar-i-tohn) n. the range of the male voice between tenor and bass.

bass (beys) n. the lowest male singing voice.

beat (beet) n. the basic pulse of a piece of music.

bunker (buhng-ker) n. a large container or compartment for storing fuel

candelabra (kan-dl-ah-bruh) n. a large branched candlestick or holder for several candles or lamps.

chalet (sha-ley) n. 1. a kind of farmhouse, low and with wide eaves, common in Alpine regions. 2. any cottage, house, ski lodge, etc., built in this style.

chord (kord) n. a group of notes played at the same time in harmony.

chorus (kawr-uhs) n. 1. a group of singers. 2. a piece of music for these.

chronological (kron-l-oj-i-kuhl) adj. a method of arrangement that puts events in order of occurrence.

contralto (cuhn-tral-toh) n. the lowest female singing voice.

communiqué (kuh-myoo-ni-key) n. an official bulletin or communication, usually to the press or public.

comrade (kom-rad) n. a person who shares in one's activities, occupation, etc.; companion, associate, or friend. 2. a fellow member of a fraternal group, political party, etc. 3. a member of the Communist party or someone with strongly leftistviews.

conscript (kuhn-skript) v. to compel into service.

criticism (krit-uh-siz-uhm) n. 1. the act of passing judgment as to the merits of anything.

despicable (des-pi-kuh-buhl) adj. deserving to be despised; contemptible.

discretion (dih-skresh-uhn) n. the power or right to decide or act according to one's own judgment; freedom of judgment or choice 2. the quality of being discreet, especially with reference to one's own actions or speech; prudence or decorum.

donning (don·ning) v. (used with object) to put on or dress in.

embolden (em-bohl-duhn) v. to make bold or bolder; hearten; encourage.

excommunicate (eks-kuh-myoo-ni-keyt) v. to exclude or expel from membership or participation in any group, association, etc.: an advertiser excommunicated from a newspaper. felled v. bring down; reduce or hurt

flat (b) (flat) adj. a half-step lower than the corresponding note or key of natural pitch.

Glossary38

Words underlined in the glossary are used within the libretto. If you come across one of these words as you read through thelibretto and you’re unsure of that word’s meaning, you can look it up here in the glossary.

39

forte (f) (for-tay) adv. loudly.

fortissimo (ff) (for-tee-see-moh) adv. a musical term for very loud.

fraternize (frat-er-nahyz) v. to associate cordially or intimately with natives of a conquered country, enemy troops, etc.

futile (fyoot-l, fyoo-tahyl) adj. incapable of producing any result; ineffective; useless; not successful.

grenade (gri-neyd) n. a small shell containing an explosive and thrown by hand or fired from a rifle or launching device.

hie (hahy) v. to hasten; speed; go in haste.

indulge [in-duhlj] v. to yield to, satisfy, or gratify (desires, feelings, etc.).

insubordination (in-suh-bawr-d-ney-shuhn) n. the act of willfully disobeying an authority.

jarringly (jahr-ing-lee) adv. in a manner that jars and irritates.

Kaiser (kahy-zer) n. The German emperor, the emperor of Austria, or the head of the Holy Roman Empire.

key (kee) n. the basic note of the main scale used in a piece of music. In the key of G, for example, G isthe fundamental note; the music often returns to it and comes to rest on it.

largo (lahr-goh) adv. a musical term meaning in slow time and dignified style.

leitmotiv (lahyt-mo-teev) n. a melodic passage or phrase associated with a specific character, situation, or element.

libretto (li-bret-oh) n. the words of an opera or other long musical.

major (mahy-zer) adj. music in a major key uses a major scale, in which the first three notes are the key note followedby intervals of a tone and then another tone (for example, C, D, E). It often has a cheerful, strong sound.

makeshift (meyk-shift) adj. serving as a temporary substitute; sufficient for the time being.

mason (mey-suh n) n. a builder and worker in stone.

melancholy (mel-uh n-kol-ee) n. a gloomy state of mind, especially when habitual or prolonged; depression.

minor (my-ner) adj. music in a minor key uses a minor scale, in which the first three notes are the keynote followed by intervals of a tone and then a semitone ( for example A, B, C). It often has a sad, melancholic sound.

mingle (ming-guhl) v. to mix or combine; put together in a mixture; blend.

natural (nach-er-uhl) adj. a note that is neither flattened nor sharpened.

nigh (nahy) adv. near in space, time, or relation.

Occupied Zones – areas of Europe in which different countries held power throughout World War I

octave (ok-tiv) n. a note that sounds twice as high in pitch as another, is an octave above the other note,and has the same letter naming it.

officious (uh-fish-uhs) adj. objectionably aggressive in offering one's unrequested and unwanted services, help, or advice.

ofttimes (awft-tahymz) adv. commonly, repeatedly, often times

opera (op-er-uh) n. a play in which the words are sung to musical accompaniment.

orchestra (awr-keh-struh) n. a large body of people playing various musical instruments, including stringed and wind instruments.

overture (oh-ver-cher) n. an orchestral composition forming a prelude to an opera or ballet.

pianissimo (pp) (pee-ah-nees-ee-moh) adv. a musical term meaning very softly.

piano (p) (pi-an-oh) 1. adv. a musical term meaning softly. 2. n. keyed percussion instrument first namedpianoforte because it could play both softly and loudly.

presto (pres-toh) adv. a musical term meaning very fast.

reinforcements (ree-in-fawrs-muhnts) n. an additional supply of personnel, ships, aircraft, etc., for a military force

relentless (ri-lent-lis) adj. unyieldingly severe, strict, or harsh; unrelenting.

scale (skayl) n. a series of notes arranged in descending or ascending order of pitch.

schnapps (shnahps) n. (in Europe) any strong, dry spirit, as slivovitz, aquavit, or kirsch.

semitone (sem-i-tohn) n. a half step or half tone, an interval midway between two whole tones.

sentry (sen-tree) n. a soldier stationed at a place to stand guard and prevent the passage of unauthorized persons, watch for fires, etc., especially a sentinel stationed at a pass, gate, opening in a defense work, or the like. 2. a member of aguard or watch.

40

sharp (#) (shahrp) n. any note a semitone higher than another note. Also, slightly too high in pitch.

soprano (so-prah-noh) n. the highest female or boy's singing voice.

stage (stayj) n. a platform on which a public performance is given before an audience.

stanched (stawnch) v. to stop the flow of (a liquid, especially blood).

stoically (stoh-i-kuhli) adv. impassive; characterized by a calm

symphony (sim-foh-nee) n. a long musical composition (usually in several parts) for a full orchestra.

synopsis (si-nop-sis) n. a summary, a brief general survey.

terrace (ter-uhs) n. an open, often paved area connected to a house or an apartment house and serving as an outdoor living area; deck.

tone (tohn) n. 1. an interval equal to two semitones. 2. the sound quality of an instrument or voice.

traumatize (trou-muh-tahyz) v. to injure (tissues) by force or by thermal, chemical, etc., agents.

treason (tree-zuhn) n. 1. a violation of allegiance to one's sovereign or to one's state. 2. the betrayal of a trust or confidence; breach of faith; treachery.

trod (trod) v. to step or walk on, about, in, or along.

trudge (truhj) v. to walk, especially laboriously or wearily:

unbeknownst (uhn-bi-nohnst) adj. unknown; unperceived; without one's knowledge.

Union Jack n. The Union Flag, commonly known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom, as well as a flag with an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth realms.

unraveled (uhn-rav-uhld) v. to separate or disentangle the threads of (a woven or knitted fabric, a rope, etc.). 2. to free from complication or difficulty; make plain or clear; solve.

unsolicited (uhn-suh-lis-i-tid) adj. given or supplied without being requested or asked for.

verismo (vuh-riz-moh ) n. realism in opera.

vigilant (vij-uh-luhnt) adj. 1. keenly watchful to detect danger; wary. 2. ever awake and alert; sleeplessly watchful.

From Dictionary.com. Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.

The School District of PhiladelphiaSchool Reform CommissionWilliam R. Hite, Jr., Ed.D Superintendent

Pedro A Ramos, Chairman

Lorene Cary, member

Joseph A. Dworetzky, member

Feather Houstoun, member

Wendell E Pritchett, member

Tom KnudsenChief Recovery Officer

Dennis W. Creedon, Ed.D.Office of Comprehensive Arts EducationDirector/Principal

Opera Company of Philadelphia

David B. DevanGeneral Director

Corrado RovarisMusic Director

Michael BoltonVice President of Community Programs

The Opera Company of Philadelphia is supportedby major grants from The William PennFoundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and TheLenfest Foundation.

Additional support is provided by theIndependence Foundation and the Horace W.Goldsmith Foundation.

The Opera Company of Philadelphia receives statearts funding support througha grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts,a state agency funded by the Commonwealthof Pennsylvania.

Sounds of Learning™ was established by a generous grant from The AnnenbergFoundation.

Dedicated funding for the Sounds ofLearning™ program has been provided by:

$20,000 to $49,999Hamilton Family FoundationPresser FoundationUniversal Health ServicesWells Fargo FoundationAnonymous

$10,000 to $19,999The ARAMARK Charitable Fund at the VanguardCharitable Endowment Program

Eugene Garfield Foundation

The Hirsig Family Fund of the PhiladelphiaFoundation

Lincoln Financial Foundation

Morgan Stanley Foundation

$5,000 to $9,999Alpin J. & Alpin W. Cameron Memorial Trust

Bank of America Charitable Foundation

Deluxe Corporation Foundation

GlaxoSmithKline

The McLean Contributionship

$1,000 to $4,999Citizens Bank

Mellon Bank, N.A.

Louis N. Cassett Foundation

Mutual Fire Foundation

Written and produced by:Opera Company of PhiladelphiaCommunity Programs Department©20131420 Locust Street, Suite 210Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A. 19102Tel: (215) 893-5927Fax: (215) 893-7801www.operaphila.org/learn

Michael BoltonVice President of Community Programsbolton@operaphila.org

Adrienne BishopCommunity Programs Assistantbishop@operaphila.org

Special thanks to:

Minnesota Opera Silent Night Production Photos© Michal Daniel, Minnesota Opera

Lauren AnconaManager of Marketing Technology

Dr. Dennis W. CreedonCreator, Sounds of Learning™Curriculum Consultant

Dr. Dan DariganWest Chester UniversityDepartment of Literacy

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Tullo Migliorini

Maureen LynchOperations ManagerAcademy of Music

Cornell WoodHead UsherAcademy of Music

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