If one were to start counting stories, plays, television, and films that relate to, or take place at, Christmas-time, one might assume that every possible twist on the subject matter has been exhausted. Not only are there the now undeniable classics like Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, It’s A Wonderful Life, O. Henry’s The Gift of the Magi, and the opera Amahl and the Night Visitors, but also the contemporary favorites like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, all of which embrace music in different ways. And one cannot deny the popularity of the mind-boggling number of Christmas movies presented by the Hallmark and Lifetime networks, despite their admittedly formulaic storylines.
However, if we have learned anything over the last 50 years about Christmas stories, it is that there is always room for an inventive and entertaining new work that reflects the spirit of the season with originality and a fresh point of view. One such new work arriving this year was the delightful The Christmas Spider, an opera with music by Clint Borzoni and libretto by John De Los Santos. The work has received co-premieres by Opéra Louisiane in Baton Rouge in December, and by Marble City Opera in Knoxville last Saturday at St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral.
The adaptation was drawn from a centuries-old Ukrainian folktale in which a spider, thankful for the warmth of a poor family’s home, spins a web that decorates a humble Christmas tree and brings the family good luck and fortune. The story spawned a tradition of placing a spider’s web ornament on Christmas trees.
While only time will tell whether the Borzoni/De Los Santos work will become a deserved staple of Christmas-time musical storytelling, the one-hour opera had all the elements that suggest success in the genre. The charming and tuneful Borzoni score is spirited, sparkling, and evocative; its instrumentation of flute, violin, cello, and piano is fully capable of the poignance called for. The score also includes a touching and original carol, in this case sung by a chorus of treble voices and adults—a rendering, along with the redemptive finale, that brought the glint of a tear to many eyes in the audience.
The Christmas Spider features four characters: Fedorov (baritone Charles Eaton), a poor woodcutter; his two children, Zoya and Dmytro; and their insistent landlady, Ms. Petrina (Kathryn Frady, soprano and MCO’s executive artistic director). The children’s roles were double cast: Janessa Iusan and Andrew Collins were Zoya and Dmytro respectively in the 2:30 PM performance; Amadea Kahler and Oscar Kahler were Zoya and Dmytro in the 5:00 PM performance.
Ivan Griffin was the stage director; conductor Brandon Coffer gave the work the needed spirited pacing with the 4-player instrumental ensemble: Jeff Brannen, violin; Kathryn York, cello; Kelly Bacon, flute; and Dustin Lin, piano.
