Amahl and the Night Visitors, Quarantined

Need to Know

Gian Carlo Menotti is an Italian-American composer, truly an internationalist composer. He is Italian by birth, but has studied, written, and premiered his works so extensively in the United States, that even The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians classify him as an American composer.

Menotti’s formal music training started at age 14 at the Milan Conservatory and by age 16 he was enrolled at Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. At Curtis, the young composer studied composition with Rosario Scalero and was also introduced to another student, Samual Barber. The two, Menotti and Barber, would become partners in life and in work. After graduating from Curtis, they set up a home together in Mount Kisco, New York. Their home, in which they named “Capricorn”, had space at opposite ends for both composers to work, they shared this home for over 40 years. Listen to Menotti talk about Barber here.

Menotti wrote both the music and the libretti for all his works. In addition, he wrote the libretti for Barber’s operas Vanessa and A Hand of Bridge.

Menotti’s greatest success came in the 1940’s and 1950’s, in addition to stage productions, The Medium, The Consul, The Saint of Bleecker Street, the composer also produced operas for radio and tv, including, The Old Maid and the Thief, Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Labyrinth.

Menotti called Amahl and the Night Visitors, “an opera for children, because it tries to capture my own childhood.” The opera is the first to be commissioned for television and the composer drew upon happy childhood memories of Christmas and a chance encounter with Hieronymus Bosch’s painting, The Adoration of the Magi.

Amahl and the Night Visitors premiered on NBC on Christmas Eve in 1951 and became an immediate success. The opera has been translated into over 20 languages and remains Menotti’s most popular work.

A drink fit for a King!

In honor of Amahl and the Night Visitors, your pre-opera cocktail is “A-mahl-ed” wine!… see what we did there… bad dad joke aside, this spicy cocktail is the perfect drink to pair with the opera and warm one’s soul. Watch John create the drink here.

Ingredients: 1 bottle red wine, 1/4 cup brandy, 1 medium orange, 8 to 10 cloves, 3 sticks of cinnamon, 2 teaspoon ginger, 1/3 cup honey, Orange peel (from your orange) and cinnamon stick for garnish Directions: Add all the ingredients to a large pot or slow cooker and gently warm on low for about 20 to 25 minutes, stir occasionally and when the honey is dissolved and the wine is steaming, it’s ready to serve. Pour into a mug and add garnishes, enjoy!

A Covid Christmas Classic

Ok, so this clip, outside of being about the Magi, has nothing to really do with Amahl or his Night Visitors, but in the spirit of the season and giving a classic carol a covid makeover, here is a link to “We Three Kings: Pandemic Parody Edition.”

Synopsis

Amahl at a glance!

Amahl and the Night Visitors is based on Italian stories of the Nativity and Epiphany. Menotti’s retelling is set through the eyes of a young poor disabled boy named Amahl living with his widowed mother near the city of Bethlehem. Amahl notices a bright star, but is brushed off by his mother who’s mind is buried in concerns for her son and their lack of money. That evening, three kings knock on their door seeking refuge and rest from their journey of following the star. They bring with them treasure and gifts to offer “the Child” who was born and will rule over all. After all fall asleep, the Mother is tempted to steal a little bit of gold treasure, knowing it could change hers and Amahl’s life, but is caught by the Kings. King Melchior, understanding the family’s situation, offers her to keep the gold and says the Child king will build his kingdom without gold. The Mother, hopeful of such a king, implores Melchior to take back the gold and would also like to offer a gift to the child, but unfortunately has none to give. Amahl offers them his one possession, his crutch, to take to the Child. As soon as he passes over his gift, Amahl’s leg is miraculously healed. With his mother’s permission, he joins the Kings on their trek to see the Child and thank him for healing his leg.