A one-act English Opera by Gian-Carlo Menotti
|
5:30pm Adults £6 children £2 (high tea included)
|
One of the most popular of American operas, Gian-Carlo Menotti's Christmas
story, Amahl & the Night Visitors, is performed throughout the country every
Christmas. Written in 1951, Amahl was the first opera commissioned for
television, and had its premiere the same year by the NBC Television Opera
Theatre in New York City on December 24th. This was soon followed by its
first staged performance on February 21, 1952, conducted by Thomas Schippers.
The NBC recording was replayed every year until the original video recording
was lost. Amahl quickly joined the standard opera repertory, and has since
become a yearly holiday tradition, with performances at opera houses,
schools, and churches.
|
Synopsis
|
| Amahl, a shepherd, tries to tell his mother about what he has seen outside; an enormous star with a long tale. His mother, used to his habitual lying, grows angry; she is even angrier when Amahl tells he that a knock at the door is three kings come to visit them. The kings enter and tell the two peasants that they have come to find a king, and they show the rich gifts they have brought him. While Amahl's mother is out gathering the neighbors, Amahl asks the kings questions about their lives. The mother returns, and the villagers present their gifts to the visitors. That night, Amahl's mother tries to steal some of the kings' gold to use to help her child; she is caught, and when the kings offer to let her keep the gold, explaining that the king they seek will need nothing but love to rule his kingdom, she returns it. Amahl offers his staff as an additional gift, and suddenly finds that he can walk. He leaves with the kings to pay homage to the child who has healed him. |
