By George Basler
World War I was a slaughterhouse that led to an estimated 15-22 million military and civilian deaths. But amid the carnage, there was a moment of light and hope when soldiers from both sides spontaneously laid down their arms and left their trenches to mingle, talk, sing Christmas carols and exchange food and souvenirs.
This extraordinary truce is the subject of the opera All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914, which Tri-Cities Opera will perform Nov. 15-17 at TCO’s Opera Center in Binghamton.
“Humanity is the theme. We have this beautiful common thread between us as humans that transcends distances, languages and differences,” said Brandon Wright, who is directing the TCO production.
All is Calm was written by Peter Rothstein, currently producing artistic director at Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Fla. Erick Lichte and Timothy C. Takach did the vocal arrangements. The work premiered in 2007 with a live broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio. It has since been performed by opera companies across the country.
The work is not your traditional opera. The cast sings a cappella arrangements. The music is culled from British, French and German folk songs and carols, as well as from popular songs of the World War I era. The spoken text comes mainly from letters that soldiers wrote during the conflict.
Wright, who is an assistant professor of acting and directing at Binghamton University, has directed plays and musicals, but this will be his first time directing an opera. He acknowledged that, when approached by TCO management, he initially was reluctant to take on the job.
“My first reaction was ‘no way.’ I didn’t want to mess up,” he said, with a laugh. Then he read the script and was emotionally moved. “Part of the poignancy is the charge it gives us,” he said. “If they (the soldiers in the opera) can find common ground, what’s stopping us from finding peace?”
The production will feature a cast of nine: two TCO resident artists, five community members and two TCO staff members. They will play soldiers on both sides of the war and sing primarily in English.
All is Calm is an intimate piece that calls for “a different range of colors than what the opera voice offers,” said Michael Segura, one of the resident artists in the production.
Performing the score is challenging, agreed Sergio F. Mandujano, the second resident artist in the production “It’s very difficult to tune classical voices without a harmonic structure underneath,” he noted.
Both Segura and Mandujano feel emotionally connected to the work. “In the world today with so many problems and social media, we’ve become numb. It’s beautiful to see young men who have been trained to be numb thawed away by Christmas and the holiday,” Mandujano said. “You leave the show asking the question, ‘Have I become too numb?”’
All is Calm is a story that wants to be told with simplicity, not with theatrical flourishes, Wright said. His challenge as a director is to convey this simplicity, he added. He is also working to make the story accessible, so that audience members don’t feel they’re living through a static history lesson.
The tragedy inherent in All is Calm is that the Christmas truce was never repeated, Segura said. The high commands of the armies put a stop to the effort. The hope that the killing would stop soon didn’t happen. The years that followed only added to the misery.
That’s makes what happened on Christmas 1914 all the more poignant,
IF YOU GO: Tri-Cities Opera will present All is Calm Nov. 15, 16 and 17 at Tri-Cities Opera Center, 315 Clinton St., Binghamton. Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday’s performance is at 3 p.m. Tickets are $55 for premium seats and $40 for regular seats; senior and group discounts are available. Children under 18 are free with an adult ticket — up to 4 kids can get free tickets with the purchase of one adult ticket.
Tickets can be ordered at www.tricitiesopera.com or by calling the box office at 607-772-0440.
Veterans and active-duty military are FREE for all performances. They must call to obtain tickets.
Saturday night’s performance will be a special Veteran Appreciation Night. Veterans groups, including Southern Tier Veterans Support Group (STVSG), Binghamton Vet Center and Clear Path for Veterans, will be present and will provide information and support. Active service members and veterans will be invited to stand and be recognized. There will be an audience talkback after the performance.
