Synopses & Reviews
Since its first performance on Christmas Eve, 1951,
Amahl and the Night Visitors has taken its place with
A Christmas Carol as a holiday classic. Peformed on every continent and in many languages, it has been seen by more people than any other opera in history.
The story tells of the night the Three Kings, following the star to Bethlehem, stop for shelter at the home of Amahl, a poor, crippled shepard boy who lives with his widowed mother. Inspired by the Wise Men's tale of a kingdom "built on love alone," Amahl offers his own simple gift to the Christ Child. And then a miracle happens. . .
In this warm and compassionate story, Gian Carlo Menotti has captured the essential spirit of Christmas. At its premiere, The New York Times called Amahl "rare art. . . tender and exquisite." Now brought to life in glowing watercolors, Amahl and the Night Visitors is a feast for the eyes and heart, one readers of all ages will want to return to again and again.
Synopsis
When the Three Kings stop at Amahl's hut for shelter on their way to Bethlehem, the crippled shepherd boy responds to their news of the Christ Child by offering his most precious gift. And then the miracle happens...Glowing watercolors bring this well-loved classic to life and make it a feast for the eyes and heart.
Synopsis
In this gift edition of the classic Christmas opera, the Three Kings, following the star to Bethlehem, meet a poor, crippled shepherd boy who offers his own simple gift to the Christ Child.Ages 3-up.
"Lustrous....Lemieux achieves a solemn and stately mood, using strong, simple shapes that glow with golden color washes." --School Library Journal.
About the Author
Gian Carlo Menotti was born in 1911 in a mountain village in northern Italy. He began composing at age five and had written his first opera before he was eleven. As a little boy, he was miraculously cured of lameness by a pilgrimage to the nearby Sactuary of Sacro Monte. This was the genesis for
Amahl and the Night Visitors, the first opera ever commisioned for television.
Mr. Menotti is the composer of twenty operas, including The Consul and The Saint of Bleecker Street, both of which won Pulitzer Prizes. In 1958, he founded The Festival of Two Worlds, a celebration of the arts in Spoleto, Italy, with counterparts in Charleston, South Carolina, and Melbourne, Australia.
For his lifetime achievement in the arts, Mr. Menotti recently recieved the Kennedy Center Honors award. He lives in Scotland.Michele Lemieux was born in Quebec in 1955 and has worked as an illustrator of books and magazines in Toronto, Paris, Freiburg (Germany), and Montreal, where she now lives. An artist with a considerable reputation in Europe, her adaptation of Peter and the Wolf and her illustrated version of There Was an Old Man. . . , by Edward Lear, have recently been published by Morrow.