The Ties of War & Art – “Silent Night” Director Note

Jul 23, 2024

By: Ryan and Tonya McKinny, Silent Night directors

War and art are inextricably linked in human history. Some of the greatest paintings, poems, and music have been born of violent conflict, and of course war itself can co-opt art for its own means. If art is the expression of our humanity, war is the destruction of it, and there are few wars that destroyed
more humanity than World War I.

Silent Night begins with an opera interrupted by war, and at its climax, war is interrupted by art when enemies begin to make music together, defying their superior officers with a truce on Christmas Eve. The fact that there was any humanity left in those soldiers at all is shocking on its own. Trench warfare was one of the most brutal tactics in the history of humankind. Men stood up while they slept, so as not to lie in the deep mud that was filled with human excrement. Tear gas and later mustard gas was used to suffocate and blind. If you were lucky enough to make it across “no-man’s land” without being blown up by a land mine or shot by a sniper, you were rewarded with close hand-to hand combat with bayonets or handmade “trench maces.”

And yet, as we see in our story, poetry was written, coffee was expertly made, bagpipes were played, sketches were drawn, and songs were sung. Songs brought these opposing sides together, though they were risking their lives from every direction. Humanity seems to come through, even in humankind’s darkest moments—maybe especially in its darkest moments. We think of these armies as different teams: French, Scottish, and German. But as we get to know the individuals involved, a new set of alliances emerge, one where the real opposition is between destruction and connection—war and art.

What are these two opposing forces that live within us? How can we fear and hate each other, kill each other by the tens of thousands and sacrifice our own lives, while at the same time finding ourselves connecting with one another, even with our enemies, through artistic expression? This piece may, on one level, be the story of how men laid down their arms for one Christmas in World War I, but beneath that, it invites us to witness the ugliest and the most beautiful aspects of humankind. It also encourages us to ask ourselves, do we have a choice? While war continues to plague humankind, can we set our weapons down and connect with one another?

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Tickets on sale now for Wolf Trap Opera’s production of Silent Night on August 9, 11, 15, and 17 at The Barns.