The difference here is that L’Enfance du Christ can withstand the royal stage treatment, whereas the other works mentioned would suffer by it. Of course, I could have also included Handel’s omnipresent Messiah, but that would mean inserting Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and other sacred works into the fray, which would tend to make this list unwieldy. This is a marvelously low-key way to begin our holiday outing. He employs a tenor narrator to set the mood, but the real winner is in his choice of orchestral coloration: a sense of comfort and joy, as well as peace and serenity, are maintained throughout by his arrangement of harps, strings and woodwinds, with the muted choir mystically intoning the sublimely moving “Amen” at the conclusion, a lovely touch indeed. Not known as a religious man per se, Berlioz loosely derived his respectful text from the New Testament story of Jesus’ birth, Herod’s slaughter of the innocents, and the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt. Nevertheless, this wonderfully unpretentious piece (Berlioz refused to label it an oratorio or even a cantata), which is divided into three parts or episodes - much like the panels of a Renaissance triptych - is one of the French composer’s least bombastic, yet most beguiling works. Berlioz was one of those exceedingly driven individuals whose musical ambitions and “penchant for the monumental,” shall we say, habitually outweighed his capacity to control them. Though not strictly an opera, this is the earliest composition on our program, one that perfectly summarizes the spirit of the season. First performed in Paris, on December 10, 1854.
L’Enfance du Christ (“The Infancy of Christ”) – Hector Berlioz (music and text). But in the end you will agree: It’s the thought that matters. This list, out of necessity, must include a few out-of-the-way works, since for many years religious displays or Biblical representations were oftentimes banned from the operatic stage. This year, “to save me from tears,” our unwrapped gift to readers will be a list of the top Christmas-themed and/or New Year’s Eve-related operas. Last Christmas, to borrow a line from pop singer George Michael, I gave you some song-filled chestnuts to roast on your terribly expensive MP3 player (see the following link: ). Season’s Greetings! As the song goes, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” And what better way to celebrate the Christmas and New Year’s holiday season than with music and song.
Ho, Ho, Ho, and a Bottle of Cheer and Fun! Kevin Puts & Mark Campbell’s Silent Night
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