Category:Amahl--music (subject)
Performing Amahl
The character of Amahl was created by Gian Carlo Menotti to be performed on stage by a singer. Music is Amahl's original setting, and music is what defines his identity. Only secondarily he has become a literary character in children's books.
Menotti distinctly wanted Amahl to be performed by a boy soprano. In the "Production Notes" contained in the Piano-Vocal score he wrote: "It is the express wish of the composer that the role of Amahl should always be performed by a boy. Neither the musical nor the dramatic concept of the opera permits the substitution of a woman costumed as a child." Nonetheless, the increasing difficulty to find well-trained boy sopranos have led many productions to hire young women for the part, especially in the numerous amateurish performances in churches and schools.
It requires a lot of talent and a lot of training to be a boy soprano and achieve that strong and intoned voice, which is necessary for performing on stage. And when the voice has reached its peak, it quickly breaks with puberty. Amahl is not the role of a lifetime. Although the opera is frequently staged, it is rare that a boy singer take part in more than one production. Unlike the adult members of the cast, who can specialize in their role, the Amahls are recruited locally among those who at the moment of the performance can guarantee the best results.
In spite of these limitations, some boy singers have made a name for themselves as Amahl, especially the four who were personally selected and trained by composer Gian Carlo Menotti and conductor Thomas Schippers as protagonists of their productions in the 1950s. Menotti realized that on screen clarity, expression and acting skill were equally important than the strength and beauty of the voice. In 1951-52, the child actor and singer Chet Allen was the perfect choice for the premiere. He created the character of Amahl and set an high standard for those who would follow in his footsteps. Allen's understudy, James Sammarco (1952-53) proved to be particularly effective in stage productions, but already for the 1952 TV show Menotti preferred 9-year-old Bill McIver who until 1955 would become his favorite and more lasting Amahl. The last boy to take part in the original Menotti production was Kirk Jordan, from 1956 to 1958.
Other boy sopranos have been particularly praised for their singing in some of the most important professional productions, notably, Alvaro Cordova (Florence, 1953), Charles Vignoles (the first British Amahl in 1953-54), Kurt Yaghjian and Robert Sapolsky (protagonists of the two video-recordings of the opera, in 1963 and 1978, respectively), James Rainbird (Covent Garden, 1986), Pablo Strong (Newcastle, 2001), Ike Hawkersmith (Nashville, 2006), and Marius Theisinger (Gera, 2015).
@2017 Gabriele Boccaccini, University of Michigan
1950s | Amahl | Film/play/opera | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1951 | Chet Allen | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1951 Schippers / @1951 Menotti), American (TV) production, video recording, world premiere (opera) <Dec 24> | |
1952 | Ronald Jennings | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1952 Hoffman / @1951 Menotti), Bloomington (stage) production (opera) <Feb 21> | |
Chet Allen | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1952 Schippers, Allen / @1951 Menotti), New York (stage) production (opera) <Apr 9> | ||
Amahl and the Night Visitors (1952 Schippers, Allen / @1951 Menotti), American (TV) production (opera) <Apr 13> | |||
James Sammarco | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1952 Schippers, Sammarco / @1951 Menotti), New York (stage) production (opera) <Sep 19> | ||
Bill McIver | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1952 Schippers / @1951 Menotti), American (TV) production (opera) <Dec 25> | ||
1953 | Piet | Amahl und die nächtlichen Besucher = Amahl and the Night Visitors, German ed. (1953 Van Doorn / @1951 Menotti), German (TV) production (opera) <Jan 5> | |
James Sammarco | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1953 Schippers, Sammarco / @1951 Menotti), New York (stage) production (opera) <Mar 22> | ||
Alvaro Cordova | Amahl e gli ospiti notturni = Amahl and the Night Visitors, Italian ed. (1953 Stokowski / @1951 Menotti), Florence (stage) production, sound recording (opera) <May 9> | ||
Charles Vignoles | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1953 Robinson / @1951 Menotti), British (TV) production (opera) <Dec 20> | ||
Bill McIver | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1953 Schippers / @1951 Menotti), American (TV) production (opera) <Dec 20> | ||
1954 | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1954 Schippers, McIver / @1951 Menotti), New York (stage) production (opera) <Apr 1> | ||
Amahl and the Night Visitors (1954 Schippers, McIver / @1951 Menotti), American (TV) production (opera) <Dec 19> | |||
Charles Vignoles | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1954 Robinson / @1951 Menotti), British (TV) production (opera) <Dec 24> | ||
1955 | Carlo Scopetti | Amahl e gli ospiti notturni = Amahl and the Night Visitors, Italian ed. (1955 Scaglia / @1951 Menotti), Italian (TV) production, video recording (opera) | |
Bill McIver | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1955 Schippers / @1951 Menotti), American (TV) production, video recording (opera) | ||
Malcolm Day | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1955 / @1951 Menotti), British (TV) production (opera) | ||
1956 | Kirk Jordan | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1956 Schippers, Jordan / @1951 Menotti), American (TV) production (opera) | |
1957 | Anthony Monopoli | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1957 Post / @1951 Menotti), Australian (TV) production (opera) | |
Kirk Jordan | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1957 Schippers, Jordan / @1951 Menotti), American (TV) production (opera) <Dec 25> | ||
1958 | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1958 Schippers, Jordan / @1951 Menotti), American (TV) production (opera) <Dec 14> | ||
1959 | Christopher Nicholls | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1959 Balkwill / @1951 Menotti), British (TV) production (opera) |
1960s | Amahl | Film/play/opera | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1960 | -- | Amahl en de nachtelijke bezoekers = Amahl and the Night Visitors, Dutch ed. (1960 Silberman / @1951 Menotti), Dutch (TV) production (opera) | |
1961 | -- | Amahl et les visiteurs de la nuit = Amahl and the Night Visitors, French ed. (1961 Bruck / @1951 Menotti), French (TV) production (opera) | |
1963 | Kurt Yaghjian | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1963 Grossman / @1951 Menotti), American (TV) production, video recording (opera) | |
1967 | Paul Boucher | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1967 Lockhart / @1951 Menotti), British (TV) production (opera) | |
1968 | Mathias Misselwitz | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1968 Kuntzsch / @1951 Menotti), Hamburg (stage) production (opera) | |
1969 | Robert Puleo | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1969 Wilson / @1951 Menotti), New York (stage) production (opera) |
1970s | Amahl | Film/play/opera | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1970 | Robert Puleo | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1970 Keene / @1951 Menotti), New York (stage) production (opera) | |
1971 | Jacques Nierlé | Amahl et les visiteurs de la nuit = Amahl and the Night Visitors, French ed. (1971 Marty / @1951 Menotti), Geneva (stage) production (opera) | |
1973 | Anthony Corretto | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1973 Bruschi / @1951 Menotti), New York (stage) production (opera) | |
1974 | Gifford Cummings | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1974 Manos / @1951 Menotti), Ann Arbor (stage) production (opera) | |
Paul Maurel | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1974 Braithwaite / @1951 Menotti), British (TV) production (opera) | ||
1976 | Christian Dettmers | Amahl und die nächtlichen Besucher = Amahl and the Night Visitors, German ed. (1976 Wedekind / @1951 Menotti), Bremen (stage) production (opera) | |
1978 | Robert Sapolsky | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1978 López-Cobos / @1951 Menotti), American (TV) production, video recording (opera) |
1980s | Amahl | Film/play/opera | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1980 | Johannes Strassel | Amahl und die nächtlichen Besucher = Amahl and the Night Visitors, German ed. (1980 Schwarz / @1951 Menotti), Vienna (stage) production (opera) | |
1986 | James Rainbird | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1986 Syrus / @1951 Menotti), London (stage) production, sound recording (opera) |
1990s | Amahl | Film/play/opera | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1996 | Benjamin Hall | Amahl and the Night Visitors (1996 Abel / @1951 Menotti), Spoleto (stage) production |
2000s | Amahl | Film/play/opera | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2002 | Pablo Strong | Amahl and the Night Visitors (2002 Hickox / @1951 Menotti), British (TV) production, video recording (opera) | |
2006 | Ike Hawkersmith | Amahl and the Night Visitors (2006 Willis / @1951 Menotti), Nashville (stage) production, sound recording (opera) | |
2009 | Solal Sananes del Castillo | Amahl et les visiteurs de la nuit = Amahl and the Night Visitors, French ed. (2009 Fellay / @1951 Menotti), Geneva (stage) production (opera) |
2010s | Amahl | Film/play/opera | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Eric Illick | Amahl and the Night Visitors (2010 Illick / @1951 Menotti), Santa Fe (stage) production, video recording (opera) |
External links
Pages in category "Amahl--music (subject)"
The following 58 pages are in this category, out of 58 total.
1
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1951 Schippers, Allen / @1951 Menotti), American (TV) production, video recording, world premiere (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1952 Hoffman / @1951 Menotti), Bloomington (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1952 Schippers, Allen / @1951 Menotti), New York (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1952 Schippers, McIver / @1951 Menotti), American (TV) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1952 Schippers, Sammarco / @1951 Menotti), New York (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1953 Robinson / @1951 Menotti), British (TV) production (opera)
- Amahl e gli ospiti notturni = Amahl and the Night Visitors, Italian ed. (1953 Stokowski / @1951 Menotti), Florence (stage) production, sound recording (opera)
- Amahl und die nächtlichen Besucher = Amahl and the Night Visitors, German ed. (1953 Van Doorn / @1951 Menotti), German (TV) production (opera)
- Amahl e gli ospiti notturni = Amahl and the Night Visitors, Italian ed. (1954 Bartoletti / @1951 Menotti), Venice (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl e gli ospiti notturni = Amahl and the Night Visitors, Italian ed. (1954 De Fabritiis / @1951 Menotti), Rome (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1955 / @1951 Menotti), British (TV) production (opera)
- Amahl e gli ospiti notturni = Amahl and the Night Visitors, Italian ed. (1955 Scaglia / @1951 Menotti), Italian (TV) production, video recording (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1956 Fluck / @1951 Menotti), British (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1956 Schippers, Jordan / @1951 Menotti), American (TV) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1957 Post / @1951 Menotti), Australian (TV) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1959 Balkwill / @1951 Menotti), British (TV) production (opera)
- Amahl en de nachtelijke bezoekers = Amahl and the Night Visitors, Dutch ed. (1960 Silberman / @1951 Menotti), Dutch (TV) production (opera)
- Amahl et les visiteurs de la nuit = Amahl and the Night Visitors, French ed. (1961 Bruck / @1951 Menotti), French (TV) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1963 Beattie / @1951 Menotti), Hempstead (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1963 Grossman / @1951 Menotti), American (TV) production, video recording (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1967 Lockhart / @1951 Menotti), British (TV) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1968 Kuntzsch / @1951 Menotti), Hamburg (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1969 Wilson / @1951 Menotti), New York (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1970 Keene / @1951 Menotti), New York (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl et les visiteurs de la nuit = Amahl and the Night Visitors, French ed. (1971 Marty / @1951 Menotti), Geneva (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1973 Bruschi / @1951 Menotti), New York (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1974 Braithwaite / @1951 Menotti), British (TV) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1974 Manos / @1951 Menotti), Ann Arbor (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl und die nächtlichen Besucher = Amahl and the Night Visitors, German ed. (1976 Wedekind / @1951 Menotti), Bremen (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1978 López-Cobos / @1951 Menotti), American (TV) production, video recording (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1978 Fletcher / @1951 Menotti), Texas (stage) production, sound recording (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1980 Henderson / @1951 Menotti), Utah (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1980 Smith / @1951 Menotti), St. Paul (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl und die nächtlichen Besucher = Amahl and the Night Visitors, German ed. (1980 Schwarz / @1951 Menotti), Vienna (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (1986 Syrus / @1951 Menotti), London (stage) production, sound recording (opera)
2
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (2001 Hickox / @1951 Menotti), Newcastle (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (2002 Hickox / @1951 Menotti), British (TV) production, video recording (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (2006 Willis / @1951 Menotti), Nashville (stage) production, sound recording (opera)
- Amahl et les visiteurs de la nuit = Amahl and the Night Visitors, French ed. (2009 Fellay / @1951 Menotti), Geneva (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (2009 Hopkins / @1951 Menotti), Fairbanks (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (2010 Illick / @1951 Menotti), Santa Fe (stage) production, video recording (opera)
- Amahl e os visitantes da noite = Amahl and the Night Visitors, Portuguese ed. (2010 Suzuki / @1951 Menotti), São Paulo (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (2012 / @1951 Menotti), Hawaii (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors / Amahl y Los Reyes Magos (2012 Rinaldi / @1951 Menotti), Miami (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (2012 Rodriguez / @1951 Menotti), Baton Rouge (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (2012 Tamarkin / @1951 Menotti), Charlottesville (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (2012 Katsman / @1951 Menotti), Livermore (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (2012 Xenelis / @1951 Menotti), Santa Rosa (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl e os visitantes da noite = Amahl and the Night Visitors, Portuguese ed. (2014 Figueiredo / @1951 Menotti), Rio de Janeiro (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (2014 Hisey / @1951 Menotti), Bridgeport (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (2014 Scarabino / @1951 Menotti), Argentine (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (2014 Sensi Sellner / @1951 Menotti), Pittsburgh (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl und die nächtlichen Besucher = Amahl and the Night Visitors, German ed. (2015 Dissmeier / @1951 Menotti), Gera (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (2015 Edewards / @1951 Menotti), Knoxville (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (2016 Banks / @1951 Menotti), Alabama (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (2016 Bavaro / @1951 Menotti), Maryland (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (2016 Boyagian / @1951 Menotti), Cleveland (stage) production (opera)
- Amahl and the Night Visitors (2016 Jensen / @1951 Menotti), Orlando (stage) production (opera)
Media in category "Amahl--music (subject)"
The following 2 files are in this category, out of 2 total.
- 1951 * Menotti (opera).jpg 251 × 352; 36 KB
- 1955 Menotti (TV film).jpg 214 × 317; 19 KB