The most frequently performed opera in the world since its premiere on NBC television on Christmas Eve, 1951, Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl & the Night Visitors, will receive its first professional performances in Boise on Saturday, Dec. 5 (2:30 & 7:30 pm) and Sunday, Dec. 6 (2:30 pm) at the Egyptian Theatre. The opera tells the story of a crippled boy who is made to walk during a visit by the Magi on their way to visit the birth site of Jesus. Boise mezzo-soprano Tiffany Calás will star as Amahl’s Mother. The matinee performances and a special family ticket price are designed to make the short, one-act opera appeal to families with children.

Synopsis

Outside a bare cottage in the hills above the road to Bethlehem, a young crippled shepherd boy plays his pipe and star-gazes. His mother calls him, and he comes inside breathless with news of a great star overhead. Bitter and skeptical of his tall tales, she worries about their poverty. Amahl soothes her with his dreams of the joys of a footloose beggar’s life. They are settling in to sleep when, far in the distance, a slow, exotic procession makes its way towards the house. There is a knock at the door. Amahl limps to open it, slams it quickly, and runs back to his mother with the news: “There is a king with a crown!” She is, once again, skeptical. Another trip to the door reveals a second king, and a third trip all three. The mother, furious at Amahl’s tale-telling, opens the door herself….and greets three splendid kings and their page, bearing dazzling treasures and seeking shelter. Amahl and their guests get acquainted: gentle Melchior, wise black Balthazar, and Kaspar, slightly addled and deaf as a post. Kaspar shows Amahl his box of magic stones.

The mother is entranced by the gifts, which Melchior explains are for the Child. She thinks of her own child, and the kings and mother weave a quartet of contrasts: “The Child we seek has the moon and the stars at His feet,” sing the kings, while the mother sighs “…but no one will bring him incense or gold, though sick and poor and hungry and cold.” Neighboring shepherds arrive bearing gifts of food, then dance for the royal guests. All bid good night, and the shepherds leave the kings to sleep. Only the mother remains awake, staring at the gold and meditating “Oh, what I could do for my child with that gold!” Desperate, she reaches furtively for a handful of gold when the page awakes shouting “Thief!” Amahl limps to his mother’s aid crying “Don’t you dare hurt my mother!” then collapses in tears. Moved, Melchior offers to let them keep the gold: “The Child we seek doesn’t need our gold. On love alone He will build his kingdom.” Even Amahl is won over by the hope of a child-saviour and offers a gift of his own: his crutch. As he reaches out with the crutch, he steps forward, miraculously cured. Awe, jubilation and praise follow, and Amahl begs to go with the kings to offer his gift in person. He and the mother part, and as Amahl rides into the night with his new friends, he once again takes up his pipe and plays.

Cast & Gallery

Amahl, a crippled boy of about 12, soprano - Zachary Berreth/Drew Myers

Amahl’s Mother, mezzo-soprano - Tiffany Calas

Kaspar, a king, tenor - David Noland

Melchior, a king, baritone - Jason Detwiler

Balthazar, a king, bass - David Hill

Page to the kings, baritone – Adrian San Miguel

Conductor – Laura Rushing-Raynes

Director – Mark Junkert