Amahl and the Night Visitors
Menotti
Information
Amahl and the Night Visitors (1951), opera in one act
Music and words by Gian-Carlo Menotti
21 December 1995: St Mary’s, Bampton
Cast
| Amahl | Nicolas Moodie |
| Mother | Lindsay Richardson |
| Kaspar | Richard Ireland |
| Melchior | Leigh Melrose |
| Balthazar | Matthew Sharp |
| Page | Ben Linton |
| Chorus | |
| Pianos: | Jeremy Gray, Guy Hopkins |
| Musical Director: | Guy Hopkins |
Synopsis
Amahl, a young crippled boy. lives with his widowed mother in a poor shepherd's cottage. The Three Kings, following the Star to Bethlehem, come to their house seeking shelter for the night. As the Kings sleep, Amahl's mother attempts to take some of the gold but is caught in the act by the Kings' page. After the furore that ensues, Amahl offers his crutch, his only possession, to the Child as a gift and finds that he can now walk. He joins the Kings on their journey to Bethlehem so as to give thanks to the Child.
Composer's note
Gian-Carlo Menotti
'...when I was a child I lived in Italy, and in Italy we have no Santa Claus... Our gifts were brought to us by the Three Kings instead... My favourite King was King Melchior, because he was the eldest and had a long white beard. My brother's favourite was King Kaspar. He insisted that this King was a little crazy and quite deaf... I should have remained very grateful to them. Instead, I came to America nad soon forgot all about them... as I was walking rather gloomily through the rooms of the Metropolitan Museum I chanced to stop in front of the Adoration of the Kings by Hieronymus Bosch, and as I was looking at it, suddenly I heard again, coming from the distant blue hills, the weird song of the Three Kings. I then realised they had come back to me and had brought me a gift.'