MIOpera Presents: “Amahl and the Night Visitors”
MIOpera, a professional opera company based in Bloomington-Normal, will present Gian Carlo Menotti’s one-act Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors. Performances will take place on December 12, 13, and 14 at First United Methodist Church of Normal. We spoke with Tracy Koch, MIOpera’s artistic director and resident stage director, to learn more about the opera and its relevance today as well as the opera company’s plans for the future.
Amahl and the Night Visitors is a one-act opera in English with music and libretto by Italian-American composer Gian Carlo Menotti (1911–2007). Commissioned by NBC and premiered by the NBC Opera Theater on Christmas Eve in 1951, Amahl and the Night Visitors was the first opera specifically composed for television in the United States.
The opera tells the story of a poor, disabled shepherd boy named Amahl who lives with his widowed mother. Their lives are changed when the Three Kings stop at their home to rest on their way to Bethlehem. In an act of desperation, Amahl’s mother tries to steal the Kings’ gold intended for the Christ Child. King Melchior catches her but ultimately forgives the poor widow, being sympathetic to her situation and impressed by Amahl’s defense of his mother. Melchior says she may keep the gold, as the Christ Child will not need earthly wealth to build his kingdom. The mother says she has waited for such a king and tries to return the gold. Amahl also wishes to send a gift to the baby Jesus but has nothing to give except his crutch. After making this selfless offer, his leg is miraculously healed. He then accompanies the Three Kings to Bethlehem to see the Holy Child and give him his crutch in thanks.
Production still from MIOpera's 2021 production of Amahl and the Night Visitors.
The uplifting message of Amahl and the Night Visitors has enshrined it within the operatic repertoire and turned it into a Christmas tradition for many opera companies. “The story strikes a chord because of the holiday season, and the meaning of the holiday season is of giving and sacrifice and love—God sacrificing his son, having the son come to earth,” Koch explained. “It’s just an inspiration of hope that good things happen to people who deserve it. It’s a really hopeful opera about faith and sacrifice. But it’s also about belief—believing in something larger than ourselves.”
Koch believes the opera will resonate with audiences this year especially, as many Americans are facing increased economic hardship. In particular, Koch thinks audiences will sympathize with the mother, who is the only character in the show without a name. “I think that the mother has no name because she encompasses everything that we struggle with in the world—food insecurity, poverty, and maybe not feeling important or necessary or relevant to society,” Koch said. “I also think that she feels despair at the current situation that she’s living in—all themes that play into what’s happening today in our world for many people right now, and it will definitely strike a chord.”
Another reason Amahl has endured is its family-friendly story, lush musical score, and concise, one-hour structure, making it approachable for first-time operagoers. “It’s a great introduction to the genre,” Koch said. “We have all the elements of opera in it. We have ensembles, choruses, a dance number, and also standalone arias, so you get to see all the aspects of opera.”
MIOpera’s production will draw from the wealth of young talent in the area. Singing the role of Amahl for two performances will be 13-year-old boy soprano Obi Johnson, a student at Tri-Valley Middle School in Downs. One performance will be sung by Mary Kroesch, a student at University High School in Normal. Despite their youth, these singers are no strangers to opera, having joined MIOpera’s chorus for Pirates of Penzance in 2023.
MIOpera Resident Artists Neal Medina, Macauley Allen, and Matthew Mancillas will sing the roles of the Three Kings, and mezzo-soprano Sidney Megeff will sing the role of the mother. Dr. Dennis Gotkowski will conduct, leading a chamber orchestra that will faithfully capture Menotti’s neo-Romantic score while fitting within the sanctuary of First United Methodist Church of Normal.
Looking to the future, MIOpera is working to expand its reach beyond Bloomington-Normal to have a greater presence across the region. In addition to its annual vocal competition, which attracts singers from all over the country, MIOpera is hoping to bring a traveling production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville to cities across central Illinois.
The next program on the horizon for MIOpera will take place in February in honor of Black History Month. Titled “I, Too, Sing America,” the program will feature music by Black composers, including a contemporary opera by Jesse Ayers called Beneath Suspicion. Written in 2015, the one-act opera tells the true story of Mary Bowser, a Union spy during the Civil War, and Elizabeth Van Lew, Mary’s former enslaver who later became a prominent abolitionist.
Look out for more details regarding this exciting program in the February edition of Clef Notes. In the meantime, tickets for MIOpera’s production of Amahl and the Night Visitors can be purchased here.
