Dating as far back as the 17th century, vocal works about Christmas and themes about the Holy Nativity (i.e., <\/span>the birth of Jesus Christ<\/span><\/a>) and the events surrounding the pilgrimage of the shepherds, angels, and wise men have been created in quick succession. Everyone from Italian composer <\/span>Carlo Francesco Cesarini<\/span><\/a>, Russian composer P. I. Tchaikovsky, German composer\u00a0 <\/span>Sigwart zu Eulenburg<\/span><\/a>, French composer <\/span>Xavier Leroux<\/span><\/a>, and American composer John Adams have tried their hand at dramatizing the famed birth of the Christian savior. <\/span><\/p>\n Originally, only sacred works could be performed during Advent (3 to 4 weeks before Christmas), the invention of <\/span>azioni sacre<\/span> (sacred actions – works on religious themes) created to skirt the rules. Later (i.e., by the mid-19th century), the rules would relax as opera became less about elite enjoyment and more about public entertainment. Operas would routinely foreground national takes on Christmas\u2019 second leading figure:\u00a0 <\/span>Father Christmas<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Knecht Ruprecht<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>King Wenceslaus<\/span><\/a> for a taste.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Composers like Rimsky-Korsakov (“<\/span>The Night Before Christmas”<\/span><\/a>) would compose seminal works, although innovation extended the world round, <\/span>Francisco Asenjo Barbieri<\/span><\/a> composing his zarzuela, \u201c<\/span>El pavo de Navidad<\/span>,\u201d while French composer <\/span>Paul Vidal<\/span><\/a> creating his own, \u201c<\/span>No\u00ebl ou Le myst\u00e8re de la nativit\u00e9<\/span>.\u201d In the 20th century, Christmas-themed operas would explode in public appeal thanks to the well known Gian Carlo Menotti\u2019s one-act opera,\u201d<\/span>Amahl and The Night Visitors,<\/span><\/a>\u201d coupled with the popular \u201cMessiah\u201d oratorio (premiered in 1742) by German-turned-British composer George Friedrich Handel. <\/span><\/p>\n Of course, MANY others made their mark including lesser-known ones like <\/span>Das Christ-Elflein<\/span><\/a> (<\/span>Hans Pfitzner<\/span><\/a>, 1906), <\/span>A Christmas Carol<\/span><\/a> (<\/span>Bernard Herrmann<\/span><\/a>, 1954), <\/span>The Long Christmas Dinner<\/span><\/a> (Paul Hindemith, 1962), and <\/span>Gift of the Magi<\/span><\/a> (<\/span>David Conte<\/span><\/a>, 1997). While the canon of \u201cChristmas operas\u201d has stabilized over time, many contemporary works have premiered recently, in the last decade several developing the field significantly (<\/span>El Nino<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Silent Night<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>Becoming Santa Claus<\/span><\/a> just three examples)! <\/span><\/p>\n As Opera Wire prepares to enter a new year, here are four operas that had their historical premieres Christmas day!<\/span><\/p>\n Composed by Italian musicologist and composer <\/span>Alberto Gentili<\/span><\/a>, with a libretto by playwright <\/span>Ferdinando Fontana<\/span><\/a> (responsible with creating the librettos for Giacomo Puccini\u2019s first two operas, <\/span>Le Villi and Edgar<\/span>), the opera premiered at the K\u00f6nigliches Hof und Nationaltheater in Germany. Although no recording exists of the opera, it is known that the libretto was based upon Italian writer Carlo Righetti\u2019s 1876 play “<\/span>On Di De Natal”<\/span> (one of the founders of the <\/span>Scapigliatura <\/span><\/a>movement, or proto-realism). The opera loosely takes place in Corsica, an island in the Mediterranean sea.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Perhaps one of the more enigmatic operas on the list, the opera was composed by lesser-known Austrian composer <\/span>Wilhelm Kienzl<\/span><\/a>, a former student of Austrian aesthetician <\/span>Eduard Hanslick<\/span><\/a>, Franz Liszt (he was even present for the premiere of Wagner\u2019s Ring Cycle in 1876 at the inaugural Bayreuth Festival). The libretto was prepared by German writer Hildegard Volgt (author of a small but archived body of work), the story based on the unknown German folk character and companion of St. Nicholas <\/span>Knecht Ruprecht<\/span><\/a>. The opera had its formal premiere at the Opernhaus Graz.<\/span><\/p>\n The only zarzuela present here (includes non-musical spoken dialogue much like an operetta), the work was composed by the Spanish composer Manuel Villaca\u00f1as Sastre with a libretto by Fern\u00e1ndez Cuesta, although little information is known about these two artists. Written for children, this work was first premiered at the Teatro Alcal\u00e1 in Madrid (built in 1903 and only dedicated to cultural activities in the 90s after having served as a multipurpose venue for decades). As of 2022, the opera has yet to be revived or contemporarily performed on the stage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Perhaps the most interesting on the list, the opera was written not for operatic audiences but the airwaves. The work was first commissioned by the New South Wales government, the job given to Australian composer <\/span>John Henry Antill<\/span><\/a> (a singer and former railway worker, most famous for his ballet <\/span>Corroboree<\/span><\/a>). The work\u2019s libretto was created by Pat Flowers, information on her unavailable. The work premiered live on an ABC televised feed, and has seemingly not been revived since. Antill\u2019s vocal works are relatively unknown outside Australia (opera <\/span>The Music Critic<\/span>, and oratorio <\/span>The Song of Hagar to Abraham the Patriarch<\/span><\/a>).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" (Photo Credit: Christian Dagef\u00f6rde) Dating as far back as the 17th century, vocal works about Christmas and themes about the Holy Nativity (i.e., the birth of Jesus Christ) and the events surrounding the pilgrimage of the shepherds, angels, and wise men have been created in quick succession. Everyone from Italian composer Carlo Francesco Cesarini, Russian composer P. I. Tchaikovsky, German {…}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":73304,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[479,6],"tags":[18066,18069,18068,18067],"class_list":["post-73303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-on-this-day","category-high-notes","tag-and-tomorrow-christmas","tag-die-weihnacht","tag-in-knecht-ruprechts-workshop","tag-the-first-christmas"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDie Weihnacht (1900)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
In Knecht Ruprecht’s Workshop (1907)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
And Tomorrow Christmas (1940)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The First Christmas (1969)<\/strong><\/h3>\n