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Who wrote Amahl and the Night Visitors?
Gian Carlo Menotti
Amahl and the Night Visitors/Composers
Amahl and the Night Visitors is an opera in one act by Gian Carlo Menotti with an original English libretto by the composer.
Who wrote the opera Amahl and the Night Visitors?
Gian Carlo Menotti’s beloved 1951 work is considered to be the first opera composed for television. It’s not as if Gian Carlo Menotti sat down one day and said, “I think I’ll invent a new genre today.” Yet with the composition of Amahl and the Night Visitors in 1951, that is essentially what he did.
What is the story of Amahl and the Night Visitors?
The plot of Amahl and the Night Visitors is straightforward. The crippled boy Amahl lives in poverty with his mother. They are visited by the Three Kings, the Magi, or the Three Wise Men, on their way to see the infant Jesus and, during the night, the mother succumbs to temptation and steals some of their gold.
Is there a DVD of Amahl and the Night Visitors?
1955 DVD release. The Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors occupies a rich spot in television history: its live broadcast on December 24, 1951 was the first broadcast of the Hallmark Hall of Fame, the first opera ever written specifically for television, the first program to be broadcast in color (in 1953).
When was the original Amahl on TV?
“Amahl” was telecast annually from 1951 through 1966. It was discontinued afterwards and did not appear again on American television until a new production was filmed on location and telecast in 1978. Amahl: Are you a real king? Balthazar: Yes. Amahl: Have you regal blood? Balthazar: Yes. Amahl: Can I see it? Balthazar: It is just like yours.
How many people watched Amahl live?
Amahl was seen on 35 NBC affiliates coast to coast, the largest network hookup for an opera broadcast to that date. An estimated five million people saw the live broadcast, the largest audience ever to see a televised opera.
What inspired Menotti to create Amahl and the Night Visitors?
Menotti was inspired by The Adoration of the Magi (Hieronymus Bosch, died 1516) to create Amahl and the Night Visitors.