Opera Steamboat’s presentation of “All Is Calm” at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Dec. 11 and 12 at 6:30 p.m. will offer the Yampa Valley a rare opportunity to experience an extraordinary historical moment through love forged with song.

The production, which was written by Peter Rothstein with vocal arrangements by Erick Lichte and Timothy C. Takach, takes the audience back to the 1914 Christmas Truce, when soldiers from opposing sides laid down their weapons and shared a brief and heartfelt moment of humanity in the beginning stages of World War I.

For Opera Steamboat General Director Julie Maykowski, bringing this piece to Steamboat Springs represents an opportunity to demonstrate that “there is more that unites us than divides us.”

“That was really what drew me to it,” said Maykowski. “It is incredibly relevant to the world we live in today.”

Since joining Opera Steamboat, Maykowski has taken on challenges that face opera companies nationwide, including the fact that traditional operatic performances, though loved by experienced listeners, can at times feel overwhelming to new audiences. As a result, Maykowski and Opera Steamboat’s board has begun to steer the organization with an ethos of growing ticket sales not only with strong artistic offerings, but also an intentional mission to build community through classical music.

“I was looking at how we grow our audience because we have had declining ticket sales for a number of years,” she said. “I wondered if doing things that are different from the standard inherited repertoire would attract new audience members. Then we can work to build trust and get folks to come because they know it will be really good.”

“All Is Calm,” which premiered off Broadway, struck the exact right chord. The performance demands highly trained voices, but also incorporates melodies that audiences will already know.

“It is a beautiful piece, and people will recognize a lot of the music,” she said. “It is totally accessible, and that really was the overall goal.”

The board quickly shared her enthusiasm, and after viewing clips from a PBS broadcast, they were unanimously supportive of bringing the production, and a skilled set of singers, to Steamboat.

In a valley where venue challenges are constant, the production offered another advantage. Since it is performed entirely a cappella, the work required no orchestra, which in turn reduced its cost and simplified logistics.

“From a cost standpoint, it is more affordable than doing something with a full orchestra, and St. Paul’s really fits the bill,” said Maykowski. “It is a wonderful acoustic setting for something like this.”

The church’s space, which Maykowski described as warm and resonant, supports a close connection between the male ensemble while also highlighting the production’s emotional undercurrent.

“All Is Calm” is the first production that Maykowski has both selected and cast in Steamboat, making the process an especially meaningful step in her leadership role within the organization.

“I have been doing casting for decades, so this was fun because it is such an intimate piece,” she said. “Some of these guys are coming because I have known them for 20 or 30 years and they want to see Opera Steamboat succeed.”

The cast includes singers who have performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera and other major venues, in addition to former Opera Steamboat young artists who are now building national careers throughout the country.

“It is a cast that reflects different ages and different points in life,” Maykowski said. “I cannot wait to share them with Steamboat.”

A small preview in November offered audiences a brief glimpse of the performance’s emotional impact when cast member Jonathan Hays performed excerpts during a First Friday Artwalk event at the Veterans Center. John Camponeschi, who is an educator in the Hayden School District and writer for the Steamboat Pilot and Today and Craig Press, delivered an opening speech on the historical significance of the play, and event, in both the past and present.

For Jonathan Hays, who is Actor #7 in the musical, the experience of working within an all-male cast is rare and deeply rooted in the historical circumstances the work portrays.

“All male casts are extremely rare, and they frequently surround specific historic circumstances that gathered groups of men,” explained Hays. “I am expecting that the cast will bond around the joys, sorrows and shared experiences of the soldiers quoted in ‘All Is Calm’.”

Hays has approached his role in the performance by focusing on authentic storytelling.

“I am not trying to send a message. I am simply trying to portray the roles and experiences of the soldiers in my track to the best of my ability,” he said. “I take this approach so the audience will draw its own conclusions.”

He is particularly moved by the moments of humor embedded within the show, noting that it is “a gift to have been able to find humor amid so much darkness, despair and death.”

To Hays, the Christmas Truce remains one of the most powerful acts of civil disobedience in history.

“The soldiers said, ‘Oh, to hell with this,’ walked onto the battlefield, shook hands, sang songs and defied the wishes of their governments to fight,” he said. “It serves as a reminder that governments do not always express the true will of the people.”

For baritone Keith Phares, who performs as Actor #6, the production also offers its cast an entirely different kind of artistic challenge.

“There are short solos and dialogue here and there, but this is a true ensemble show,” said Phares. “It is about my contribution to the group versus how I sound individually.”

The show requires actors to shift between a wide range of dialects, something that Phares and the rest of the cast has fully embraced.

“I have had a blast trying to master the various dialects required for the show,” he said. “I have already been able to pass on to my students what I have learned from our dialect coach.”

Along with Maykowski and Hays, Phares sees the message of “All Is Calm” as both powerful and universal.

“Hope for humanity,” he said. “The longing for peace and human connection amidst the insanity of war.”

Like the rest of the cast, he performs multiple characters that reflect the varied experiences of the soldiers who were present during the truce.

Despite the fact that the event occurred more than 100 years ago, the musical remains profoundly relevant.

“It is an example of the desire for peace, connection and fellowship among people who were literally at war,” Phares said. “I would like to think that desire still exists, even in this divisive and scary time in our history.”

Maykowski describes the production as both timeless and timely. When she first selected the piece, international tensions looked different, but over the past year its message has only become more urgent and relevant in her eyes.

“It demonstrates how to overcome this notion of sides and is more about uniting,” she said. “There is something magical that happens when a group of people from all different backgrounds sit in a space and experience art together — it breaks down barriers.”

Opera Steamboat’s production of “All Is Calm” is supported by the 1220 Philanthropic Fund, the Berenice Gates Hopper Family Fund and Carol and Rick Dowden. Additional support comes from the City of Steamboat Springs, the Yampa Valley Community Foundation, CSFF and Colorado Creative Industries/National Endowment for the Arts, in addition to long-standing donors throughout the Yampa Valley.

Ultimately, Maykowski hopes that audiences will walk out feeling both moved and proud of the company that brought the story to life.

“I hope people say they are glad Opera Steamboat picked this piece, and also think, ‘Wow, what a story,'” she said.

“All Is Calm” will be performed Dec. 11 and 12 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Tickets and additional information are available at OperaSteamboat.org/2025-operas.