Opera Orlando: All is Calm the Christmas Truce of 1914

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Opera Orlando is presenting two free performances of All is Calm, the Christmas Truce of 1914, written by Peter Rothstein, with Vocal Arrangements by Erick Lichte, and Timothy C. Takach. It is a moving story of the 1914 Christmas Truce during World War I.

I have focused all my attention on the movements of the 75th Infantry Division in World War II so when I saw their production of All is Calm I felt I needed to sketch a rehearsal. This was the first one the cast were in costume. It was also the first time I got to see the Orlando Opera rehearsal space near Metro West.

Living out of a backpack for three months and dealing with rain and increasingly cold days as I sketched, I felt an affinity for the soldiers who had to wear two pairs of pants to keep warm. Time spent in the elements hardens a man. My understanding of the Herman language slowly developed.

The songs in the show started off with folk songs celebrating the enlistments of the men into war. Getting a steady soldiers pay check would help for many experiencing hard times. That initial excitement turned dark as the herd realities of war became all too real. A soldier sand about the loss of his dear friend and never wanting to be close to anyone ever again.

Out of the violence, a silence as the artillery stopped, and then a song from the German trenches. A German soldier stepped into No Man’s Land singing “Stille Nacht.” The British troops didn’t shoot because the soldier was unarmed and he sang beautifully. This started a spontaneous cease fire. Ultimately a British and German soldier stood in no man’s land and shook hands. Soon all the soldiers put down their weapons and stood while joking and laughing with one another. Thus began an extraordinary night of camaraderie, and music, while sharing a message of peace and humanity while setting aside the conflict. When the generals heard of the truce they were furious and soon the gins once again spit forth their chaos.

There are two free performances…

Key Details for Free Shows:
  • What: All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 (a cappella musical about WWI).
  • Where (Free): Orlando Family Stage (1001 E. Princeton St.).
  • When (Free): Dec. 12 (7:30 PM), Dec. 13 (2 & 7:30 PM), Dec. 14 (2 PM).
  • Cost: Free, but reservations are required and spaces are limited.
  • How to Get Tickets: Visit operaorlando.org/trenches2025-26. 
Paid Shows:
  • Rosen JCC: Arts at the J is presenting the show on Dec. 18 (7:30 PM). Tickets are $29 for standard seating and $5 for students and seniors.
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  • Garden Theatre (Winter Garden): Dec. 20 (7:30 PM), Dec. 21 (2 PM). The show is being presented at the historic Garden Theatre on Plant Street, by the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation and Opera Orlando. The performances are on Saturday, December 20th and Sunday, December 21st only. Reservations are required.

Tickets… VIP Premium Plus ($99 per ticket) includes exclusive seating, pre-show reception in Heller Hall (Saturday’s reception starts at 6 PM, Sunday’s reception starts at 12:30 PM), post-show meet and greet with the cast, and photo-op.

VIP Premium ($79 per ticket) includes exclusive seating, post-show meet and greet with the cast, and photo-op.

Standard seats are $69 per ticket.

Macbeth Act II

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Macbeth with music by Giuseppe Verdi was presented by the Orlando Opera at Steinmetz Hall in the Dr. Phillips Center for the Perf0rming Arts.  During the intermission I finished up adding watercolor washes to my first sketch.

The second Act opened up once again in the witches cave. I am loosing sight in my left eye which causes me to see two overlapping images. I decided to use my opera glasses to do a second sketch. The advantage of the opera glasses is that the double vision is no longer a problem. One actor or actress fills my vision as I sketch. The problem is to keep my head still as I sketch and resist looking don at the sketch. Both of my fountain pens failed as I sketched and I found that colored pencils became blunt too fast. Despite the technical issues I enjoyed sketching each with in turn, knowing full well it would be a quirky result. I think I will do drawings more often using the opera glasses. It puts me right on top of the action.

Macbeth

Posted on by Thor

Orlando Opera presented Macbeth with music by Giuseppe Verde at Steinmetz Hall in the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts ( 445 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL), on October 25 and 27, 2024.

The opera opened with the conductor walking out and conducting the small orchestra in the pit.  A witches cave which had a black scrim with 2 openings at the top of the two ramps. I suspected there must be more behind the scrim so I resisted sketching the openings, instead sketching the audience. The theater went pitch black, so I used my iPhone to illuminate the sketch. The witches predicted the future to two generals.

The scrim opened to show the kings castle. Lady Macbeth convinced her husband that he must murder the king to rise to the throne. He had a vision of a dagger and realized that this was his future. The king was murdered in a large projected silhouette, and Macbeth walked on stage with very bloody hands.

The lyrics were in Italian. Since I was sketching, I didn’t have time to read the subtitles above the stage. The emotion behind every aria however was clear. I have seen several productions of Macbeth as written by Shakespeare, so the story line was familiar. I let the music guise my hand as I struggled, putting lines on the page in the dark.

Wekend Top 6 Picks for September 14 and 15, 2019

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Saturday September 14, 2019

10pm to 5pm Free. 331Sullivan Street Fair, Punta Gorda. Punta Gorda Craft Festival. Punta Gorda Sullivan Street Craft Festival will highlight the talents of
many unique crafters, providing the area with one of its most enjoyable
winter traditions. Come meet and visit with some of the nation’s best
crafters while enjoying the charming streets of Punta Gorda. It features
a display of products like ceramic, jewelry, digital, photo, fiber,
metalwork, sculptures, glass, mixed media, wood, graphics, painting and
much more.

4pm to 6pm Free.  Young Voices. JB Callaman Center 102 North Parramore Ave Orlando FL. Teen Open Mic Every second Saturday of the Month. 

8pm to 10pm $5 Second Saturdays in Sanford. 202 S Sanford Ave, Sanford, FL. Live music event featuring 2 stages, drink specials and more.

Sunday September 15, 2019

9:30am to 12:30pm  $275 for 6 classes. Urban Sketching Tips and Techniques. Taught by Thor. Crealde School of Art. Learn to sketch from subject to the environment. Classroom sessions will
focus on sketching clothed models and progress towards sketching the
model and classroom environment. Learn how to incorporate storytelling
into your sketches in our location sessions. These trips to local venues
will challenge you to use your sketchbook the way a photojournalist
uses a camera. The six-week goal is to produce finished sketches using
pencil, pen, and watercolor within two hours. Skill level: Intermediate

2pm to 3pm  $77.25 6 of VIII Casa Feliz 656 N Park Avenue Winter Park, FL 32789.

Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. Revel in the bliss and misery of marriage as the six ill-fated queens of the second Tudor king share their experiences of matrimony and acrimony. 

This original work about the 6 wives of Henry VIII expands the song cycle Try Me, Good King by Libby Larsen, with original monologues, madrigals, and other music to give voice to Henry’s dead wives. The result is an atmospheric snapshot into the unique lives of history’s most famous wives. The Critic’s Choice winner for Best Musical at the 2019 Orlando International Fringe Festival, 6 of VIII features The Helena Collective. Presented at the Historic Casa Feliz Mansion in Winter Park, these special encore performances include appetizers, desserts, and wine.

Sung in English.

Adaptation created by Sara Catherine Barnes

Special pre-show presentation “On the Balcony” featuring selections from Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette and Bernstein’s West Side Story along with pop-up performances by the ConVivo Madrigal Singers.

10pm to Midnight. Free but get a coffee. Comedy Open Mic. Austin’s Coffee, 929 W Fairbanks Ave, Winter Park, FL. Free comedy show! Come out and laugh, or give it a try yourself.

Hansel and Gretel Dress Rehearsal

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Orlando Opera presents Hansel and Gretel at the Alexis and Jim Pugh Theater in the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts (445 South Magnolia Avenue Orlando FL). Engelbert Humperdinck’s operatic retelling of the ever-popular Grimm
fairy tale features a lush score and charming characters that, on
Christmas Day in 1931, became the first complete Metropolitan Opera
radio-broadcast performance.

The cast includes mezzo-soprano Sarah Purser as Hansel, soprano Jillian Marini as Gretel, soprano Samantha Barnes Daniel as the mother, baritone Ben Ludwig as the father, and tenor Jess Muñoz as the witch. Opera Orlando’s music and education director Robin Jensen conducts, and creative director Grant Preisser directs. Come and get lost in the woods this holiday season.

Hansel and Gretel shirked their chores and played together with childish abandon. Then their mother arrived and discovered that Hansel had gotten no work done. Gretel had managed to keep sweeping even as she played but they were scolded anyways.

All the trees on stage were on wheels, so the stage shape shifted throughout the production. A banner above the stage was used to project the lyrics which weren’t much needed since the production was in English. However the witch at this rehearsal was difficult to hear, which was probably a technical issue that will be worked out. A large gingerbread man doubled as the oven towards the end of the evening.

Wood nymphs and plenty of stage mist created some mystery as the children got lost and fell asleep in the woods. An enthusiastic cast of children helped sell the horror of the fate of Hansel and Gretel. The children were dressed up like gingerbread Gumbys with large flat mittens and featureless faces.

The witch and a wood nymph wandered into the audience several times, breaking the fourth wall and adding some intimacy to the production. Perhaps because this is a familiar story line, the ending seemed anti-climactic. Clearly staged for children, this could be a fun family outing.

Tonight’s final performance on Sunday December 9, 2018 at 2pm is unavailable which I assume means sold out. Tickets