Florida Grand Opera’s ‘Silent Night’ Intersects Music, Memory and Reconciliation

Kevin Puts’ “Silent Night” presented by Florida Grand Opera at the Arsht Center in Miami opening Saturday, Nov. 15 with performances Sunday, Nov. 16 and Tuesday, Nov. 18 and then at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, Dec. 4 and Saturday, Dec. 6.  (Photo courtesy of Lewis Valdes)

On a frozen battlefield in 1914, the sound of gunfire fell silent. Instead, across the trenches, soldiers began to sing—first in German, then in French, then in English. “Stille Nacht,” the carol we know as “Silent Night,” floated through the cold night air, joined by the drone of Scottish bagpipes. For a few miraculous hours, men who had been fighting one another laid down their weapons to share songs, prayers, and even a game of soccer.

That extraordinary true story of the World War I Christmas truce becomes the heartbeat of Florida Grand Opera’s “Silent Night,” opening Saturday, Nov. 15 with performances Sunday, Nov. 16 and Tuesday, Nov. 18 at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami, then at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale for two performances on Thursday, Dec. 4 and Saturday, Dec. 6.

Alex DeSocio, Kyle Albertson, Andrew Garland, and the FGO Chorus in Florida Grand Opera’s “Silent Night” with performances in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. (Photo by Lewis Valdes, courtesy of Florida Grand Opera)

A co-production with Atlanta Opera and Opera Carolina, the sweeping work by composer Kevin Puts and librettist Mark Campbell transforms a fleeting moment of wartime humanity into an opera of intimacy, loss, and reconciliation. Supported by the embassies of England, France, and Germany, the production arrives at a historic moment for Florida Grand Opera: its first performances in 18 years with its own orchestra.

“We’re deeply honored to bring ‘Silent Night’ to South Florida,” says Maria Todaro, FGO’s General Director and CEO, “especially at a time when the message of unity and compassion feels more urgent than ever.”

For Todaro, the establishment of a dedicated orchestra represents both an artistic and institutional milestone. “When you look at major opera houses like Paris, Chicago, or Vienna, none of them operate without their own orchestra,” she says. “Every musician in ours has been hand-picked by our music director, Pablo Mielgo, and our concertmaster, Avi Nagin. Having our own orchestra completes the company and allows us to define our sound, our aesthetic, and our spirit.”

Baritone Joseph Canuto Leon in Florida Grand Opera’s production of “Silent Night.”  The set was constructed in Cardiff, U.K., at the same facility that builds for the Metropolitan Opera. (Photo by Lewis Valdes, courtesy of Florida Grand Opera)

Opening during Veterans Month gives “Silent Night” an added dimension of meaning for the company and the community it serves. “This is more than an opera; it’s a tribute,” says Todaro. “The piece itself is phenomenal—uplifting, humane, and profoundly relevant. It also aligns with our new Voices of Wellness and Voices of Our Heroes initiatives, which focus on the mental health and well-being of veterans, first responders, nurses, and their families.”

For Kevin Puts, that sense of connection has always been at the core of “Silent Night.” Born in St. Louis and educated at the Eastman School of Music and Yale University, Puts won a 2012 Pulitzer Prize in Music for “Silent Night,” and a Grammy Award in 2023 for his triple concerto “Contact.”

“(Silent Night”) was my first opera, so I didn’t have any preconceptions,” says Puts. “I was simply looking for the most powerful musical expressions of chaos, peace, hope, and brotherhood. The battle scenes are dark and dissonant, while the moments when the soldiers think of home—their mothers, their sweethearts, the warmth of safety—are tender and intimate. The audience has to experience those contrasts as vividly as the characters do.”

Kameron Lopreore, tenor, makes his house and role debuts with Florida Grand Opera in Tomer Zvulun’s production of Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell’s “Silent Night” as Nikolaus Sprink. (Photo by Lewis Valdes, courtesy of Florida Grand Opera)

That emotional polarity, he says, is what gives the work its enduring resonance. “These soldiers were just human beings caught in circumstances created by others. Once they stepped out of the trenches and met the men they were supposed to kill, they realized how absurd it all was. Once you know your enemy as a human being, it’s almost impossible to see them as inhuman again. That’s the core of the story.”

For stage director Tomer Zvulun, who has guided “Silent Night” through seven productions across two continents, that message of empathy feels as vital as ever. “What’s wonderful about this story is that it tells the human side of war,” he says. “The soldiers, their families, their deepest fears. The greatest fear of any soldier is not seeing the people they love again, and that’s also the greatest fear of those waiting at home. Ultimately, life is about love.”

Zvulun’s vision for this Florida staging draws inspiration from cinema—an homage to the 2006 Oscar-nominated film “Joyeux Noël” on which the opera is based. “To capture that rhythm, we’ve built a vertical set with multiple levels that moves seamlessly from bunker to bunker, trench to trench, across No Man’s Land without traditional scene changes,” he explains. “You follow the action almost like a camera moving through the battlefield.”

The sets, constructed in Cardiff, U.K., at the same facility that builds for the Metropolitan Opera—along with the period-accurate costumes crafted in Europe—give the production historical texture. “Every detail helps transport the audience into that world,” says Zvulun.

Director Tomer Zvulun leads Florida Grand Opera’s staging of “Silent Night,” composed by Kevin Puts with a libretto by Mark Campbell, performed in Miami and Broward counties. (Photo courtesy of Florida Grand Opera)

The collaboration between Florida Grand Opera, Atlanta Opera, and Opera Carolina deepens that impact. “This partnership reflects our international identity,” says Todaro. “Atlanta and Opera Carolina are our neighbors and wonderful partners. We joined forces to co-produce the work, sharing resources and costs. Other companies will likely rent this production in the future, benefiting all partners involved.”

The opera’s multilingual score—sung in German, French, English, Latin, and Italian—mirrors the cultural and emotional collisions of war. “Opera is already an art form of many languages,” says Zvulun, “but in ‘Silent Night,’ the music layers them like counterpoint. Different characters sing in different tongues, but the meaning converges. The music itself becomes the unifying force.”

Puts credits Campbell for that approach. “Writing in multiple languages makes the story more powerful,” he says. “You feel the separation between these soldiers—the distance created by language and nationality. And when the truce happens, those awkward, beautiful moments of connection become incredibly moving. Audiences respond to that struggle because it feels real. It’s about people trying to connect.”

Kameron Lopreore as Nikolaus Sprink and Sarah Joy Miller as Anna Sørenson, in Kevin Puts’ Silent Night. (Photo by Lewis Valdes, courtesy of Florida Grand Opera)

At the opera’s emotional center lies the spontaneous Christmas truce, when soldiers emerge from their trenches to share carols, communion, and a game of soccer under the frozen stars. Zvulun calls it “the poetry of the battlefield.” “We use space, light, and motion to show the shift,” he explains. “You see soldiers move from attacking each other to sharing a cigarette or a piece of chocolate. Cold, harsh light gives way to the warm glow of Christmas. In the ‘Dona Nobis Pacem’ scene, the light itself tells the story.”

For Todaro, that transformation onstage mirrors the company’s own commitment to reconciliation and renewal. “‘Silent Night’ invites reflection,” she says. “It encourages audiences to see others with compassion, civility, and empathy—to rediscover our shared humanity. We’ve cried during rehearsals because it’s so beautiful and human. It’s a piece that heals while it moves.”

That healing, Puts believes, is inseparable from the music itself. “I’ve always thought of music as a place of sanctuary—a way to reach each other on the deepest level possible,” he says. Zvulun adds simply, “Music is medicine for the soul.”

WHAT: Florida Grand Opera presents Ken Puts’ “Silent Night”

WHERE: Miami: Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts (Ziff Ballet Opera House), 1300 Biscayne Blvd, Miami.  Fort Lauderdale: Broward Center for the Performing Arts (Au-Rene Theater), 201 SW 5th Ave, Fort Lauderdale.

WHEN: Miami: 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov 15.; 3 p.m., Sunday Nov 16, 8 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 18. Fort Lauderdale: 7:30 p.m., Thursday,  Dec. 4 and Saturday Dec. 6.

COST: $22-$300.

INFORMATION: 1-800-741-1010 or fgo.org

ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music and more. Don’t miss a story at www.artburstmiami.com.