Curtain Call. The people (dressed in black) on the left of the photo constitute the "orchestra."
Story. Amahl lives with his mother. He walks with the aid of a cane. One night three visitors come to knock on his door. He tells his mother that there are three kings visiting. His mother at first doesn't believe him, but eventually they welcome in their modest home the three visitors, who are on a journey to visit this new-born king. Neighbors are invited to join in the celebration. After things quiet down, and the neighbors have left, Amahl's mother tries to steal the visitors' gold, but is caught. The visitors forgive her. When the visitors get ready to leave, Amahl offers up his cane as a gift for the king, and he finds himself cured. With his mother's blessing, Amahl joins the visitors in the journey.
Conductor - Steven Osgood; Amahl - Albert Rhodes, Jr, Amahl's Mother - Joyce DiDonato, The Page - Johnathan McCullough, The Three Kings - Bernard Holcomb, Todd Thomas, Phillip Boykin.
The last (and only) time we saw this opera was when Ellie was in a play put out by her school - she probably was one of the many neighbors. Beyond that I didn't remember much of the opera, although one could guess from the title what the story is.
The story is simple enough, indeed so simple that some "extraneous" vignettes have to be inserted so the opera would last more than 30 minutes. I include in that the neighbor scene, and the dancing that takes place. Even the mother trying to steal the gold is so "les miz." Which is okay, one attends a performance of this work as a pleasant event for the season, and not necessarily as a masterpiece. Indeed the opera was written for TV as a way to popularize the genre. Opera goers were even more snobbish 70 years ago, I suppose.
The performance was very enjoyable. From the very beginning, one could sense the great relationship between mother and son, and how they hang on to each other for strength despite their lack of material things. Given how small the theater is (seats around 400), all the singers came across clearly. DiDonato's voice is strong, but I wish she showcased her ability to capture an audience with her signature soft deliveries. She is quoted as wanting to this for a long time.
The set did its job.
The three visitors all had booming voices ("one of them is white," a line I am quite sure not in the original; they are most likely Persians anyway). The "orchestra," so to speak, consists of two pianos and an oboe.
The visitors promised to bring Amahl back after their visit to the king. We know that probably didn't happen as Matthew 2:12 tells us the visitors took a different way home.
Anne really wanted our grandchildren to see this, but couldn't pull it off during Christmas week. Ellie and Reid came along this afternoon.
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