The 2014 Fort Worth Opera Festival will present Silent Night. In one stunning moment during World War I, all was quiet on the Western front and a spontaneous moment of peace transformed foes into friends. Based on the 2005 French film Joyeux Noel, this Pulitzer Prize-winning opera recounts the historic impromptu cease-fire between Scottish, German, and French soldiers on Christmas Eve 1914, when each man laid down his arms and joined together to bury the dead and honor the holiday.

Brought to life by a mix of characters—Nikolaus Sprink, a German opera singer; William and Jonathan Dale, Scottish brothers filled with patriotic fervor; Lieutenant Audebert, a French officer; Lieutenant Gordon, a questioning Scottish solider; and Lieutenant Horstmayer, a German officer torn between duty and his conscience—their personal stories intermingle, highlight the global character of conflict, and add a remarkable depth to this glimmering moment of humanity in the face of war. However, when the sun rises on Christmas morning, how will each man react to resuming the bloody fight?

Performed in English, French, German, Italian and Latin with supertitiles in English.