Peabody composer's Pulitzer should be noted by Lyric Opera Baltimore
Monday' brought the great news that Kevin Puts, a terrifically gifted composer who teaches at the Peabody Conservatory, had been awarded the Pulitzer Prize in music for his first opera "Silent Night." Tuesday, the folks over at Lyric Opera Baltimore should be meeting intently to discuss plans for producing that work soon.
"Silent Night" is based on the haunting film "Joyeux Noel" about the Christmas in 1914 on the front lines of World War I when German, French and British troops stopped the senseless slaughter long enough to celebrate the holiday with each other.
So here's the idea, Lyric Opera: The Baltimore premiere of "Silent Night" in December 2014, 100 years after that remarkable moment in the otherwise dreadful history of the War to End All Wars. How about it?
To begin with, it's ...
a natural marketing hook. Nothing wrong with taking advantage of that. And it would be great way for the company to signal that it will be more than just another mausoleum-type organization, devoted solely to tried-and-true music of the past.
Most importantly, Puts and "Silent Night" deserve to receive the local attention.
This composer connects with listeners on a visceral level, which is why his orchestral works are so successful and why audiences at the Minnesota Opera premiere of "Silent Night" last November responded so enthusiastically.
Here's a taste of what we could be enjoying here if folks with a little courage (and a lot of generous underwriting) could be found:
Comments
Great idea. Let it be so!
Here's popping champagne for Peabody's Kevin Puts. I can't wait to experience the complete opera.
Posted by: Alton | April 17, 2012 9:00 AM
Tim, this may be your greatest idea yet, especially about when to produce it and the marketing angle.
Posted by: Tom | April 25, 2012 5:52 PM
Thank you so much for posting this, Tim. It is truly beautiful, and it led me to several other brief excerpts from the opera available on You Tube. Which was wonderful, as I have not yet met my Peabody colleague, and missed the showing of the opera he arranged for his students. Roger.
The whole opera (audio) is available online, thanks to Minnesota Opera and Minnesota Public Radio.
http://www.mnopera.org/watchlisten/silent-night
TIM
Posted by: Roger Brunyate | April 26, 2012 7:15 AM