Augustana OperX to perform ‘Amahl and the Night Visitors’

The Augustana OperX program will perform “Amahl and the Night Visitors” at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, on the Brunner Theatre Main Stage. Dr. Patrick McNally, assistant professor of music and director of opera, will direct the performance.

Tickets are $14; $12 for seniors and non-Augustana students; $10 for faculty, staff and children. Augustana students receive free admission.

“Amahl and the Night Visitors” is a touching one-act opera commissioned for television in 1951. Composer Gian Carlo Menotti felt inspired to write a work that recaptured his childhood and wrote the piece to be kid-friendly. The opera tells the story of Amahl, a boy with a disability who meets the Three Kings on their way to meet the Christ child.

Amahl lives with his mother, a widow. One fateful night, Amahl gets a miraculous visit from Three Wise Men that changes his life. 

“After being caught stealing some gold coins from one of the Magi so that she can buy food to feed her son, Amahl’s mother becomes a believer in their message of a King who has no need for earthly wealth,” Dr. McNally said. 

“But in a larger sense,’ he continued, “it’s a story that aims to remind us that the gift of giving can come in many forms, and that even the unlikeliest of people can shower us with the blessing of profound compassion and humanity we so desperately need.”

OperX vocalists work with instrumentalists, composers, chamber orchestra and other singers to create dynamic performances that combine their diverse energies and talents.