Conservatoire de Lille, October December 2019 •
Conservatoire de Lille, October December 2019 •
Conservatoire de Lille, October December 2019 •
Opera in one act by
Gian Carlo Menotti.
Amahl, a poor boy with a handicap, lives with his mother in a small village not far from Bethlehem. Rather than go to bed, the little boy prefers to stay outside, gazing up at the sky. He sees a dazzling star adorned with a long tail. Is he telling another tall tale? His mother is concerned. And yet…
One, and then two, and finally three wise men knock on their door! They are looking for a child the color of wheat, the color of dawn. His eyes are mild; his hands are those of a king. They seek a lodging for the night, before continuing their journey, guided by the star…
Amahl and the Night Visitors premiered on December 24, 1951 at the NBC Opera Theater in New York. It was the first opera composed specifically for television in the United States.
"Yes, I know a child the color of earth...
the color of thorn.
His eyes are sad;
his hands are those of the poor,
as poor he was born.
But no one will bring him incense or gold...
though sick and poor and hungry and cold.
He is my child, my son, my darling... my own."
- Gian Carlo Menotti,
Amahl and the Night Visitors (la mère)
Credits
Staging: Marcus Borja
Project coordination: Gabrielle Charles and Emanuela Ducornez
Choir preparation: Eric Deltour
Choreography: Camélia Trouvé
English diction: Jeff Cohen
Arrangers: Sandrine Baranski et Romain Meunier
© Photo credit: Marcus Borja
Instrumental ensemble of students from the Ecole supérieure de musique et de danse des Hauts de France in Lille: Charles Faucheux (oboe), Margaux Faucheux (clarinet, bass clarinet), Antoinette Illes (cello), Amélie Lejosne (double bass)
With
Amahl: Eléonore Meens, Julie Dexter (alternately)
La mère: Frédérique Delfanne, Lucille Bailly-Gourevitch (alternately)
Kaspar: Alexis Garcia, David Powels (alternately)
Melchior: Etienne Dingeon, Boris Colas (alternately)
Balthazar: Kamini Zantoko
The Page: Paul Cambourian
Piano: Jennifer Meens, Pierre Bourteel (alternately)
Chœur
Léa Van Hoecke, Florianne Melleret, Dalinda Benzenache, Mathilde Payen, Amélie Déchelette, Camélia Trouvé, Amandine Godard, Erika Blisac, Guillaume Cossu, Melki Izzouzi, Edouard Gilbert, Mathias Lonchay and Joseph Nicolas.