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Kentucky
Opera will join forces with Fern Creek Christian
Church in a wonderful collaboration to bring to
the Louisville
community a tale of hope and faith just in time
for Christmas. Amahl and the Night VISITORS will
be performed on Friday, December 7 and Saturday
December 8, 2007
starting at 8:00pm
at Fern Creek Christian Church, 9419
Seatonville Road .
The performance will be sung
in English and will feature
Kentucky Opera’s Studio Artists performing
the principal roles with the combined choirs of
Fern Creek Christian Church. Tickets,
$10 for adults and $5 for seniors and children
under 12, can be purchased by calling Kentucky
Opera at 502.584.4500 or Fern Creek Christian
Church at 502.239.9300.
Amahl and the Night
Visitors is
an opera in one act by Gian Carlo Menotti. It
was first performed on December 24, 1951 in
New York City, at the NBC studios, where it was
broadcast on television. It was the first opera
specifically composed for television in America.
Kentucky Opera performed the opera in December
1959 at the Columbia Auditorium. |
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Somewhere
in the world lives a crippled little shepherd
called Amahl, with his mother, an impoverished
widow. Nothing is left to them of the little they
ever had, and they are now faced with hunger and
cold in their empty house.
Three
Wise Men, on their way to Bethlehem
, stop at
the hut and ask to be taken in for the night.
Amahl and his mother welcome them and their Page
as well as they can, and are much astonished at
the splendor of their robes and the wealth of
gifts they are carrying with them. When Amahl's
mother realizes that the Three Kings are looking
for a newborn babe and that the expensive gifts
are all destined for him, she becomes bitter and
envious. She cannot understand why at least some
of these gifts could not be given to her own child,
who is so poor and sickly.
Under
cover of darkness, while the Three Kings are asleep,
she steals some of the gold from them - and is
caught red-handed. When she explains to the Three
Kings that she needs the gold to feed her starving
child, she is readily forgiven. With great tenderness
they try to explain to her who this newborn child
is and how much he needs the love of every human
being to build his coming kingdom. Touched by
their words, the poor widow not only gives back
the stolen gold, but wishes she could add a gift
of her own. Little Amahl comes to her rescue.
He impulsively hands the Three Kings his wooden
crutch, his most precious possession, and in so
doing he is miraculously cured of his lameness.
As
dawn appears in the sky, the Three Kings prepare
to resume their journey. Amahl begs his mother
to let him join them, and he is finally allowed
to follow the Kings to Bethlehem
to adore
and give thanks to the Christ Child. |
