From the very first notes of G.C. Menotti’s score there are signs that the performance by The Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle (COT) will be— above all —sweet. The score begins with gentle swirls of strings that seem to be beckoning with whisperings of come listen to a story. The bassoon segues to the other winds and motifs we will hear throughout.
Like the sprite title character Amahl, the oboe joins in akin to a pre-teen saying look-at-me, look-at-me.
Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle Delivers a Christmas Classic with a Cozy Feel
The chorus then emerges from above as they file into Carolina Theatre’s box seats. This is an added signature by COT, as the choral part is typically only heard near the end of the opera. A Star of Bethlehem light is projected high on the wall near where they sing. Later, the three Kings will also emerge from the sidelines and cross the audience seating to get to the stage. The strings had first beckoned us to the story; the staging was akin to a warm quilt that wrapped us into cozy listening mode waiting for the tale to unfold.
Though a projection of the libretto as is done in the high-end opera houses would have been nice, it’s a relatively straightforward story and easy to follow, even for newcomers to the operetta. We meet a crippled shepherd boy with a lively spirit and his mother, who is ever trying to tame him into obedience. They are visited in their modest hut by three kings. The entire village of shepherds is summoned to help feed these unexpected royal drop-ins. We get a dance performance and many a comic line, especially playing on the deafness of one of the kings. While they sleep, the boy’s mother tries to help herself to a few gold coins in order to help her crippled son. She is caught. When they crippled boy sings, to paraphrase, Don’t you dare hurt my mother!, you too might imagine that the nostalgia that brought many to the performance spiked to off-the-charts territory. The happy ending we had suspected from the gitgo happens—Amahl is cured of his crippling ailment to skip across the stage.
The talents bringing this production to life — costume design, set design, singers and most of all the orchestra—gave this score its due.
From the balcony however, the theatre design didn’t seem very acoustically friendly to the production— with the singers often being drowned out by the orchestra. The talents on the stage and the stagecraft surrounding them made this sound imbalance an annoyance but one we could, for the most part, see and hear past.
After the performance the word sweet seemed to bubble from every corner of the foyer as we filtered outside. Yes! In a word COT’s production of Amahl and the Night Visitors was sweet.
Photos: Courtesy of Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle.
Editor’s Note: Listen to a 1960’s recording of Menotti’s Amahl & the Night Visitors here.
Cast:
Mother ........ LaToya Lain
Amahl ........ Luca Smith
King Kaspar ........ Dylan Morrongiello
King Melchior ........ Darren Drone
King Balthazar........ Matthew Anchel
Page ........ Eric Love
Choir ........ SONAM
Dancers ........ Sarah Bowdoin, Bethany Miller Sullivan, and Beth Starosta-
Creative Team:
Conductor ........ Lorenzo Muti
Stage Director ........ Niccolo Muti
Choir Director ........ Allan Friedman
Choreographer ........ Gerri Houlihan
Costume Designer ........ Lauren Carmen
Costume Assistant ........ Q Lee
Lighting Designer ........ James Clotfelter
Production Assistant ........ Susan Pyle
Orchestra:
Violin I
Jose Olea Vico*
Sarah Carson Cox
Therese West
Helena Bandy
Violin Il
Timothy Parham*
Angela Scalise
Alice Ju
Molly Hines
Viola
Julius Adams*
Jacobus Hermsen
Michael Castelo
Cello
Beideth Briceno*
Jake Wenger Joyu Lee
Bass
Zachary Hobin
Harp
Laura Byrne
Piano
Kate Lewis
Flute
Jill Muti
Oboe
Anna Lampidis
Tom Turanchik
Bassoon
Arekson Sunwood
Horn Maria Serkin
Percussion
Krista Siachames
*
Durham Fellow
About the Author: Amy Munice
Amy Munice is Editor-in-Chief and Co-Publisher of Picture This Post. She covers books, dance, film, theater, music, museums and travel. Prior to founding Picture This Post, Amy was a freelance writer and global PR specialist for decades—writing and ghostwriting thousands of articles and promotional communications on a wide range of technical and not-so-technical topics.
