Silent Night
Welcome to the Silent Night Education Resources page!
Austin Opera’s season continues with the company premiere of the Pulitzer Prize–winning modern classic Silent Night, January 26–February 3, 2019, at the Long Center.
The opera, with music by Kevin Puts and a libretto by Mark Campbell (The Manchurian Candidate, 2016), is based on the 2005 film Joyeux Noël, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. A stellar cast and creative team join forces in Austin to present this powerful vision of humanity and hope.
Silent Night recounts a miraculous moment of peace during one of the bloodiest wars in human history. The year is 1914 and the Great War has just been declared, dividing nations and sending millions into battle. As Christmas Eve falls on a battlefield near Belgium, soldiers in French, German, and Scottish trenches begin recalling songs of home, stepping into no-man’s-land for a spontaneous truce. Once sworn enemies, they trade their weapons for merriment and camaraderie—resulting in one miraculous night of peace.
Since its world premiere at Minnesota Opera in 2011, Silent Night has been produced at opera companies around the world; Austin Opera’s performances happen in time to celebrate 100 years since the end of World War I.
The opera is sung in five languages: English, Italian, French, German and Latin. There will be English supertitles.
Run of Show: Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, including one 25-minute intermission
PLEASE NOTE: THIS OPERA CONTAINS SOME DRAMATIC WAR COMBAT SEQUENCES – including theatrical haze, strobe lighting, loud explosions gunshots and stabbings.
Not recommended for young and/or sensitive viewers.
Silent Night Cirriculum
Access Opera: Silent Night Curriculum
Access Opera: Silent Night PowerPoint
Use redemption code: SilentNight2019
Austin Opera’s Access Opera: Silent Night curriculum is an innovative multi-media based unit, complete with TEKS aligned lessons, activities, assessments and video excerpts. This curriculum is designed so you can teach Silent Night in the time frame that works best for you and your students. Designate an entire class period and share the complete lesson using the accompanying PowerPoint. Teach it in chunks. Here is what that might look like:
- Day 1 – Background (composer info, synopsis) and first listen of featured music selection
- Day 2 – Listen a 2nd time, including suggested activities/assessments from the lesson
- Day 3 & beyond – Listen to some of the alternate versions; try a new activity/assessment; explore SEL connection; Go over Audience Etiquette materials
