Friday, April 17, 2015

A Wilder Christmas

April 17

Thornton Wilder wrote the lyrics to a bittersweet operetta by German composer Paul Hindemith entitled “The Long Christmas Dinner. “ A series of Christmas dinners are compressed into a single meal spanning a 90-year period. The work is Paul Hindemith's final opera, composed in 1960-61. "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" thematically works its way in and out of the music, where each character at the dinner is a thematic force driving to Wilder's conclusion that all that has been done will occur again -- a common theme for Wilder.

Wilder was born on April 17, 1897

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