
Composed by American, Gian Carlo Menotti, Amahl and the Night Visitors was originally written for television in 1951, being broadcast live by NBC on Christmas Eve that year.
It’s rumoured that as the air date neared, Menotti had yet to finish the score for his one-act opera with the singers having little time to rehearse and receiving the final passages of the score just days before the broadcast. But all went well on the day and it has since become an annual tradition in the US being one of the most frequently performed operas of the 20th century.
Synopsis
The story starts with Amahl, a disabled shepherd boy who needs a crutch to walk and has a penchant for telling tall tales. He tells his mother that there’s an amazing, bright star “as big as a window” outside, right over their roof. But his mother doesn’t believe him and tells him “stop bothering me!”.
Later on as they’re going to bed, his mother weeps at the thought of Amahl becoming a beggar boy to enable them to survive. However there’s a knock at the door that will change the course of their lives forever.
Amahl opens the door to find three splendidly dressed kings although his mother is disbelieving until she sees the spectacle for herself. The Three Kings tell them they are on a long journey to give gifts to a precious Child and they ask if they can rest at their house, to which the mother responds “Good Evening!”; “Come In!”, even though all she can offer is “a cold fireplace and a bed of straw”.
Synopsis
They bring with them treasure and gifts for the Child who has just been born and who will reign over all. But while the kings are resting, the mother is blinded by the lure of the gold and what it could do for her family. She tries to steal just a bit of the treasure but is caught red-handed by the king’s page.
Amahl awakes and springs to his mother’s defence and at once, one of the kings, realising the mother’s motives, says she may keep the gold. The mother, who says she has waited all her life for such a king, insists the king takes back the gold for she has nothing to send the Child herself. Amahl, also with nothing to give, offers his crutch and as he does so, finds his leg miraculously healed. With permission from his mother, he leaves with the three kings to see the sacred Child and give his crutch in thanks for being healed.
What Our Audience Say
Michael and Sally Phillips
Judith
Audience tweet, Amahl & The Night Visitors, Eynsham December 2014
Production Cast
Where to watch Amahl and the Night Visitors
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