Brian Frutiger, Alex Ritchie, Siena Forest, Bergen Baker, James Barnett, and Jeremiah Sanders Photo by Bergen Baker

Last year, Skylark Opera brought us The Christmas Spider, a new variant of this seasonal message, in a beautifully mounted production. For this year's offering, Skylark unearthed a little-known chamber opera first performed in 1931, giving two public performances last weekend at Sundin Music Hall on the campus of Hamline University.

The Christmas Rose was written by English composer Frank Bridge, with a libretto based on a children's play co-written by artist Margaret Kemp-Welch and novelist Constance Cotterell. Rather than a full production, Skylark staged the piece as an oratorio, with the cast performing their roles before a 23-member orchestra. The chorus was, at first, situated at the rear of the hall, and later processed onto the stage for the conclusion of the tale.

Though this staging was done without theatrical product values, it wholly delivered Bridge's sumptuous score. The superb orchestra played with utmost clarity under the direction of James Barnett, and the staging conveyed the opera's deeply spirited message through emotionally resonant performances, especially by Siena Forest and Bergen Baker in the primary roles.

The story takes place on the night of the nativity. A girl named Miriam (Forest) overhears the angels deliver a message to her father, a shepherd, and to two other shepherds, proclaiming the birth of a child who will be the people's savior. The shepherds prepare to travel to Bethlehem, where the child was born, and pay homage to him with their humility and their gifts. Miriam begs her father to let her go with them, but he tells her the journey is too dangerous. At any rate, she must remain to look after her younger brother Reuben (Baker), who slept through the angels' visit.

Reuben awakens and Miriam tells him about the Angel's visit. Though the younger child, he persuades his sister that since the newborn child will be the savior of all people, including them, they must go to welcome him, even against their father's wishes. Their journey proves difficult and they become lost, but the angels return to direct Miriam and Reuben on their way. When the children arrive in Bethlehem, they hide to watch their father and the other shepherds carry their gifts into the stable where the holy baby lay.

Miriam realizes that she and Reuben cannot approach the Christ child, for they have no gifts. The shepherds leave the stable after viewing the child, rhapsodizing over the experience, and Miriam begins to cry. As her tears touch the ground, each one becomes the stem of a rose that rises and blossoms. Miriam and Reuben carry these roses with them as their gift for the newborn child.

This simple but poignant tale plays out in three scenes. Each premise is laid out, followed by a sharp downturn and concluding with an upsurge of joy. In scene one, after learning about the babe in the manger, Miriam is downcast at not being allowed to join her father to greet the infant, than joyful when, with Reuben's prodding, she decides to make the trip after all. In scene two, they despair at being lost, but joy surges when the angels rescue them. In scene three, Marie is distraught at having no gift for the baby, then jubilant when her tears transform into roses. Bridge's music, written in the late romantic style, follows that arc in each scene, each spiraling up to a greater intensity than the one before, leading to an ecstatic conclusion.

At Sklyark Opera, Siena Forest's clear soprano beautifully conveyed the sincerity of Miriam's hopes and the sorrow that accompanies her disappointments. While Miriam is the dominant role in The Christmas Rose, Bergen Baker's performance as Reuben was a solid match and brought conviction to Reuben's stirring argument as to why the two should journey to Bethlehem. Forest and Baker sounded equally splendid, whether singing solo or in harmony, and they conveyed the emotions of their respective characters in their gestures and bearing, as well as in their voice.

Tenor Brian Frutiger as Shepherd 1, baritone Alex Ritchie as Shepherd 2, and Jeremiah Sanders, singing bass-baritone as beginning Shepherd 3, who is the children's father, sang their parts with strong, melodious voices. They conveyed the great excitement brought on by the angels' visit, the anticipation of meeting the Christ child, and the wonderment that the experience brings. Sanders additionally expressed both compassion and authority when denying Miriam's appeal to accompany the shepherds to Bethlehem. The eight-member chorus issued a robust musical cascade to express the voice of the angels. Director James Barnett brought a sure sense of purpose to the entire performance.

Frank Bridge was born in England in 1879. He began composing in the first decade of the 20th century, the last throes of the romantic era. In the mid-1910s he began to explore the new sounds of modernism. Then World War I came, and its devastation had a profound impact on Bridge. He started work on The Christmas Rose in 1919, but its roots in romanticism seemed at odds with the modernism that captured the upheavals of the war and its aftermath. It wasn't until 1929 that he was able to go back and complete the work, melding elements of modernism into the romanticism of its foundation.

Skylark Opera has once more brought its audience a distinctive offering for the Christmas season. The Christmas Rose is a lovely work, worthy of the care and talent that Skylark has brought to it. It would be wonderful, if the fates allow, to see a full-blown production of The Christmas Rose in a future season.

The Christmas Rose was presented on December 21, 2025, by Skylark Opera Theatre at Sundin Music Hall on the campus of Hamline University, 1531 Hewitt Avenue, Saint Paul MN. For information about Skylark Opera Theatre, please visit www.skylarkopera.org.

Music: Frank Bridge; Libretto: Margaret Kemp-Welch and Constance Cotterell; Music and Stage Director: James Barnett.

Cast: Bergen Baker (Rueben), Siena Forest (Miriam), Brian Frutiger (Shepherd 1), Alex Ritchie (Shepherd 2), Jeremiah Sanders (Shepherd 3). Chorus: Julia Engel, Joe Harris, Yuran Liu, Jill Morgan, Emilia Perrotta, Ale