Menotti: Amahl and the Night Visitors
sung in German
Tempu Ishijima (Amahl), Dshamilja Kaiser (Mother), Paul Schweinester (Kaspar), Nikolay Borchev (Melchior), Wilhelm Schwinghammer (Balthazar)
Wiener Symphoniker, Arnold Schoenberg Chor, Magnus Loddgard, Stefan Herheim
Your reaction will depend upon whether you’re ready to respond to the opera as tearjerking tragedy rather than feel-good family treat…Regardless, it’s all done with the highest possible production...
Menotti: Amahl and the Night Visitors
sung in German
Tempu Ishijima (Amahl), Dshamilja Kaiser (Mother), Paul Schweinester (Kaspar), Nikolay Borchev (Melchior), Wilhelm Schwinghammer (Balthazar)
Wiener Symphoniker, Arnold Schoenberg Chor, Magnus Loddgard, Stefan Herheim
Purchase product
Your reaction will depend upon whether you’re ready to respond to the opera as tearjerking tragedy rather than feel-good family treat…Regardless, it’s all done with the highest possible production...
About
Premiered in 1951, Amahl and the Night Visitors was the first opera specifically composed for television, though Gian Carlo Menotti admitted that he had conceived it for the stage. The magical story tells of Amahl, a disabled boy who befriends the Three Kings when they stop at his house on their journey to see the newborn Jesus. Amahl decides to give his crutch to Jesus, at which point his leg is miraculously healed. Long a Christmas favourite, this new Viennese production, sung in German, boldly re-examines the story finding its key elements to be fantasy, empathy and the enduring power of love.
Contents and tracklist
- Tempu Ishijima (Amahl), Dshamilja Kaiser (Mother), Paul Schweinester (Kaspar), Nikolay Borchev (Melchior), Wilhelm Schwinghammer (Balthazar), Magnus Loddgard
- Wiener Symphoniker, Arnold Schoenberg Chor
Awards and reviews
February 2024
Your reaction will depend upon whether you’re ready to respond to the opera as tearjerking tragedy rather than feel-good family treat…Regardless, it’s all done with the highest possible production values and the commitment and artistry of company and cast are beyond question, with Tempu Ishijima quite wonderful as Amahl.
Opera Now Spring 2024
The cast under Magnus Loddgard’s baton is good. Boy soprano Tempu Ishijima is outstanding in the title role, incredibly touching but not mawkish, and as his mother, Dshamilja Kaiser has a strong mezzo.
