Amahl and the Night Visitors facts for kids
Amahl and the Night Visitors is a short opera with just one act. An opera is like a play where people sing instead of speak. The person who wrote both the story and the music for this opera was Gian Carlo Menotti. He got his idea from a famous painting called The Adoration of the Magi by Hieronymus Bosch. This painting can be seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
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About the Opera
This opera was special because it was the very first one ever made for television. It was first shown on Christmas Eve in 1951 on the NBC TV channel. It was also the first show in a well-known TV series called Hallmark Hall of Fame.
About five million people watched Amahl and the Night Visitors when it first aired. This was the biggest audience any opera had ever had on television! The show was so popular that it was shown every year until 1966.
Gian Carlo Menotti, the composer, really wanted the part of Amahl to always be played by a boy. He even wrote down that "the role of Amahl should always be performed by a boy." He felt that having a woman pretend to be a child would not fit the music or the story of the opera.
The Story
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The story is about a young shepherd boy named Amahl. He has a physical disability and uses a crutch to walk. One night, Amahl sees a very bright, huge star in the sky. He tells his mother about it, but she thinks he is making it up and tells him to go to bed. She is very worried because they are poor and might become beggars.
Suddenly, there is a knock at their door. Three kings are standing outside! They ask if they can rest at Amahl's home for the night. The kings are on a long journey to Bethlehem. They are looking for a special newborn child. Amahl is very curious and asks the kings many, many questions.
Later, some local shepherds arrive. They dance for the kings to welcome them. After a while, the kings start to get sleepy, and the shepherds go back to their homes.
The room becomes dark, and everyone falls asleep. Amahl's mother tries to take a piece of gold from the kings. She is caught by one of their servants. Amahl wakes up and tries to protect his mother by hitting the servant. He then falls down, tired out. The kings tell Amahl's mother that she can keep the gold. They explain that the wonderful baby they are searching for does not need gold. His kingdom is in Heaven.
Amahl is so touched by this story that he offers his own crutch as a gift to the special baby. He takes a few shaky steps without his crutch. Then, something amazing happens: he can walk! It's a miracle! Amahl decides to go with the kings. He wants to give his crutch to the baby himself. His mother waves goodbye as he leaves.
Images for kids
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Willis Patterson, John McCollum, Richard Cross as the Three Kings, with Kurt Yaghjian as Amahl and Martha King as his mother in the 1963 production
See also
In Spanish: Amahl y los visitantes nocturnos para niños
