Menotti, G.C.: Amahl and the Night Visitors / My Christmas

Featuring

Alastair Willis
Ike Hawkersmith
Kirsten Gunlogson
Dean Anthony
Todd Thomas
Kevin Short

Bart LeFan
George Mabry
Nashville Symphony
Nashville Symphony Chorus
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Gian Carlo Menotti

Did you know?

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Composer's Artistic Vision

The story of "Amahl and the Night Visitors" was inspired by Hieronymus Bosch's painting "The Adoration of the Magi" and is set near Bethlehem in the first century.

Recording & Production

This recording was made at the Laura Turner Concert Hall, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA, in December 2006 and November 2007.

Cultural Impact

"Amahl and the Night Visitors" was shown annually on NBC on or around Christmas Eve between 1951 and 1966, and later remade by NBC in 1963 and 1978.

Composer Biography

Gian Carlo Menotti, born in Italy, graduated from Philadelphia's Curtis Institute in 1933 and had his first opera, "Amelia Goes to the Ball," presented at the Metropolitan Opera in 1938.

Composition History

"Amahl and the Night Visitors" was commissioned for television by NBC and first televised on Christmas Eve 1951, making it the first opera written for television.