Opera San José Presents the West Coast Premiere of Puts' and Campbell's Moving Drama SILENT NIGHT

One of the most inspiring operas in decades, Silent Night recounts the miraculous day of peace during WWI when Scottish, French and German soldiers defy their superiors and negotiate a Christmas Eve truce among themselves. The soldiers, bloodied from battle and mourning their dead, soon become brothers as a carol begins, floating softly over no man's land to celebrate Christmas.

Composer Kevin Puts and librettist Mark Campbell, both of whom won a Pulitzer Prize for Silent Night, will join Opera San José for the opening on February 11, 2017, to speak about this brilliant contribution to modern opera. With the West Coast premiere, Opera San José's production of Silent Night will be entirely new with sets, props, costumes, and projections being created by the company.

The libretto uses English, French, German, Italian and Latin and all will be translated into English supertitles. Run-time is approximately three hours. Opera San José presents six performances of this deeply significant opera, opening in San José's California Theatre on February 11, 2017, closing February 26, 2017. The California Theatre is at 345 S. First Street in downtown San José.

Tickets are available by phone, online, and at the Opera San José Box Office at 2149 Paragon Drive in San José. Prices range from $10 for students, ages 25 and younger with a current student ID, and $56 to $176 for adults. Box office phone: 408-437-4450 or go to operasj.org.

Who:
Composer: Kevin Puts
Librettist: Mark Campbell
Conductor: Joseph Marcheso
Stage Director: Michael Shell
Set Designer: Steven Kemp
Costume Designer: Melissa Torchia
Lighting Designer: Pamila Z. Gray
Wigs/Makeup: ChrisTina Martin
Assistant Conductor: Robert Mollicone
Chorus Master: Andrew Whitfield

Cast:

Anna Sorensen Julie Adams
Nikolaus Sprink Kirk Dougherty •
Lt. Audebert Ricardo Rivera
Lt. Gordon Mathew Hanscom •
Ponchel brian james Myer •
Father Palmer Colin Ramsey •
Jonathan Dale Mason Gates
General Audebert Nathan Stark
Kronprinz Christopher Bengochea
William Dale Branch Fields
Madeleine Audebert Ksenia Popova •
British Major Vitali Rozynko

• Principal artist in the resident company

February 11, 12m, 16, 19m, 24, 26m "m" indicates matinee at 3pm; all other performances are at 8pm

Silent Night Preview: January 31, 2017 at 12 p.m., DR. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, 150 East Fernando Street, Beethoven Center, 5th floor, downtown San José; Free vocal preview with members of the cast. For information, call 408-437-4450.

Introduction to Opera: General Director Larry Hancock will present a free 45-minute talk to ticket holders about the opera at the California Theatre before each performance of Silent Night. The talk begins at 6:30pm prior to evening performances and at 1:30pm prior to Sunday matinees. No reservations required.

To learn more about Silent Night, please visit operasj.org

About Opera San José
Opera San José, performing at the beautiful California Theatre in downtown San José, is a professional, regional opera company that is unique in the United States. Maintaining a resident company of principal artists, Opera San José specializes in showcasing the finest young professional singers in the nation. In addition to mainstage performances, Opera San José maintains extensive educational programs in schools and in the community at large, and offers preview lectures and Introduction to Opera talks for all mainstage productions.