Talk:List of Christmas operas

A fact from List of Christmas operas appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 25 December 2015 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that at least nine Christmas operas have been based on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2015/December. The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Christmas operas.

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Holidays: Christmas

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Opera

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La boheme

La boheme is often staged around Christmas time. Perhaps it too should be mentioned in the article. Best.4meter4 (talk) 13:01, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I was thinking of adding that, but needed some refs. I've got a couple now, so I'll add it to the intro. Stay tuned :) Voceditenore (talk) 15:57, 22 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Prominence of Amahl; lack of consistent Christmas opera hit

I think it might be interesting to point out that opera really doesn't have an enduring Christmas hit unlike other performing arts. Ballet has The Nutcracker, orchestras and choirs collaborate on Handel's Messiah, and theater has found success in making derivatives of classic Christmas films and works like A Christmas Carol and Miracle on 34th St etc. Of all the Christmas themed operas out there, Amahl and the Night Visitors comes closest to achieving any sort of popularity. I think Amahl's prominence on the stage, beyond it's initial television, deserves a mention. For one possible ref see here. Best.4meter4 (talk) 22:00, 24 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I have made an attempt. Hopefully you approve voceditenore.4meter4 (talk) 06:18, 25 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Werther

I think Massenet's Werther deserves a mention since it too is occasionally programmed during the Christmas season and certainly has ties to the holiday running throughout its story. Best.4meter4 (talk) 15:38, 27 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

It is VERY, VERY rarely performed in December, 4meter4, (only once at the Met and that was in 1909 and only once in Europe in the last two years). A story centering a young man's suicide, makes it even more of a downer than Bohème. Yes, Christmas plays a part in the scenario, but no more than Easter does in Cavalleria Rusticana. I wouldn't mention it in the History text at all. I rejected for the list itself a 19th century opera by Cipriano Pontoglio which was actually titled La notte di Natale (Christmas Night) because once again, the action merely takes place on Christmas night, but is all about jealousy and murder. At most, I'd put Werther in a See also section with a brief explanation of why. Voceditenore (talk) 16:58, 27 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Other items which might go in "See also" section are Gilbert and Sullivan's The Sorcerer and Thespis, which were meant as Christmas entertainments but whose plots have nothing to do with Christmas itself. Voceditenore (talk) 17:13, 27 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I can agree with that. A see also section seems like a good way to handle those works. I guess I associate Werther with Christmas since both times I've seen the opera were in November/December. Best.4meter4 (talk) 18:42, 27 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Another work to consider is Berlioz's L'enfance du Christ. While an oratorio, it has sometimes been staged or semi-staged at opera houses.4meter4 (talk) 19:15, 27 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I've now added all of the above to a "See also" section with some explicating text and references. Probably not suitable as an external link, but this article by Michael Walsh in The National Review à propos Werther and "Christmas music" is quite amusing. Voceditenore (talk) 18:27, 28 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for sharing Voceditenore. I was amused. :-) Nice job on the See Also section and on this article in general.4meter4 (talk) 19:57, 28 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]