Amahl and the Night Visitors

Amahl and the Night Visitors is a Christmas opera by Gian-Carlo Menotti (1911–2007)[1].

The original text

Menotti wrote his Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors for NBC in 1951, the first opera ever written for television in America. It was broadcast on Christmas Eve, 1951, and the broadcast became an annual Christmas tradition.

Translations and adaptations

Translated into Afrikaans as Amahl en die Nagbesoekers by composer Bosman de Kock and librettist Aart de Villiers.

Performance history in South Africa

1963: Presented by PACT Opera

1978: Presented by NAPAC Opera.

1992: Presented by CAPAB Opera (15 December – 6 January)

1993: Presented by CAPAB Opera (14 December – 6 January)

1995: Presented by Co-Opera in Hogsback, produced by Gwyneth Lloyd, featuring soloists from the province and a hometown chorus (January).

2011: Presented by Black Tie Ensemble at the Brooklyn Theatre. Production sponsored by The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF). Director - Marcus Desando, Repetitor - Susan Steenkamp-Swanepoel and Willem Luitingh, Flute - Melissa Hall, Costume coordinator - Bronwen Lovegrove and Louisa Raditla, Set Designer - Marcus Desando, LX designer - Sven von Wildenrath, Costume & set hire - The South African State Theatre, Stage Manager - Itumeleng Tladi, Chorus master - Susan Steenkamp-Swanepoel. With Damien Von Staden/Archie Rhode (Amahl), Antoinette Olivier (Mother), Lazarus Molepolle (King Kaspar), Elias Moss (King Melchior), Mziyanda Zitha (King Balthazar), Kagiso Boroko (The Page), and the Black Tie Opera Chorus.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gian_Carlo_Menotti

https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aart_de_Villiers

Wayne Muller. 2018. A reception history of opera in Cape Town: Tracing the development of a distinctly South African operatic aesthetic (1985–2015). Unpublished PhD thesis.

Alexandra Xenia Sabina Mossolow. 2003. The career of South African soprano Nellie du Toit, born 1929. Unpublished Masters thesis. University of Stellenbosch.

Antoinette Johanna Olivier. 2014. 'Exploring contributions to opera by The Black Tie Ensemble: a historical case study'. Mini-dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master‟s in Music at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University.

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