Holiday Favorite ‘Amahl’ At WestConn, Area Churches This Month

DANBURY — A much-loved holiday tradition will continue in December when the Western Connecticut State University Opera Ensemble will stage Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, a colorful, fast-moving opera that has delighted both children and adults for more than half a century.

Performances will open on Sunday, December 10, when the WCSU Opera Ensemble performs at two area churches. One show will be at 3 pm at Saint Anne’s Cathedral, 515 South Main Street in Watebury, and the second will be at 7 pm at Bethesda Lutheran Church, 305 Saint Ronan Street in New Haven.

Amahl will then be staged at 10 am on Thursday and Friday, December 14-15, at 10 am. Tickets for the daytime performances are $5, and reservations are required. Call 837-8614 to reserve a seat.

Evening performances are planned for Friday, December 15, and Saturday, December 16, and will mark the 12th annual stagings of Amahl at Ives Concert Hall at Western CT State University. Tickets for the 8 pm shows will be $12 for adults, $8 for senior citizens and $5 for children under the age of 12.

This year’s performances will feature a triple cast in the principal roles of Amahl and his mother. The three local actors performing the role of Amahl will be Nicholas Marmor, 10, and Joseph Benitez, 9, both of Hamden, and Frank Ruggerone, 11, of Clinton Corners, N.Y.

The three women who will portray Amahl’s mother will be Victoria Chiera of Danbury; Roxsand Ramos, of Brewster, N.Y., and Giulia Sanford of Greenwich. The kings will be played by Charles Reid of New Milford, Hernan Berisso of Greenwich, Sam Manandhar of Stratford, Derek Waldron of Columbia, and Mike Carnaroli of Middlebury.

Menotti wrote Amahl as a one-act opera in English for television in 1951 and it quickly became an annual holiday favorite, returning to NBC for 16 consecutive Christmas seasons. Amahl is the story of a poor, crippled shepherd boy who crosses paths with three kings who are following a bright Eastern star to Bethlehem. This chance meeting sparks a chain of events that unfold into an uplifting and touching story, traditional to the Christmas spirit.

“Amahl is a wonderful introduction to opera for children because of its youthful cast, colorful costumes and timeless morality,” says Professor of Music Dr Margaret Astrup, the opera’s director.

For more information, call the music department at 837-8350 or the WestConn Office of University Relations at 837-8486.