Opera tutti! – in cooperation with West Chester University’s Opera Department – will present Amahl and The Night Visitors by Gian Carlo Menotti at the Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center on Sunday, Dec. 1 at 3 PM.

Opera tutti! (which means “opera for all”) is a monthly series at Uptown! with a different operatic theme for each of the performances.

Suitable for all ages and families, the story’s themes of love, forgiveness, and the possibility of miracles are sure to warm your hearts (and ears). Co-directed by Dr. Emily Bullock and Heidi Starr, with musical direction by pianist Tim Crawford and set design by Brydon Lidle IV, WCU Opera students will perform along with West Chester favorites.

A mini opera composed by Gian Carlo Menotti and premiered on Dec. 24, 1951, Amahl and The Night Visitors is considered to be the first opera composed for television. It debuted at the NBC studio at Rockefeller Center, and the 45-minute milestone telecast that established a tradition of “television opera” that has continued, in one form or another, to the present day. It also lives on as a beloved staged opera, a seasonal favorite performed around the world.

Set in Bethlehem in the first century after the birth of Christ, Amahl and The Night Visitors is one act long. In this warm and compassionate tale, Gian Carlo Menotti captures the essential spirit of Christmas. The story tells of the night that the Three Kings, following the star to Bethlehem, stop for shelter at the home of Amahl, a poor, crippled shepherd 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.

Share the experience of Amahl and The Night Visitors, the story and the music, live and in person at Uptown! Tickets for this matinee performance are available individually or discounted when 10 or more are ordered together. It is expected to be a full house as families and friends celebrate the holidays together.

Click here for tickets.

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