AMAHL & THE
NIGHT VISITORS
with
The West-Coast Premiere of FOUR LOST SANTAS
AMAHL AND THE NIGHT VISITORS follows a poor, disabled shepherd boy, Amahl, on the night he and his mother receive a visit from the three Wise Men who are traveling to Bethlehem to visit the newborn Jesus. This charming story builds to a powerful climax of grace, redemption and a miraculous healing. FOUR LOST SANTAS features a quartet of Santas, lost with their broken-down car and missing their big break at SantaCon. A mother and son (Judy and Rudy), late to perform in Amahl and the Night Visitors, come across them and agree to help. Will the Santas make it to SantaCon? Do Judy and Rudy get to the theatre on time? Join us to find out! Directed by Robert Vann, musical/orchestral direction by Anne-Marie Endres
AMAHL AND THE NIGHT VISITORS, Words & Music by Gian Carlo Menotti, Presented under license by G. Schirmer, Inc., copyright owners FOUR LOST SANTAS, Music by Spicer Carr, Libretto by Rose Freeman and Spicer Carr, Concept by Gabriel Presser, originally commissioned by Opera Orlando
The United States Premiere of
THEI GITANOS and
The California Premiere of
THE CABILDO
Amy Beach’s only opera, The Cabildo, is a romantic and thrilling story about the imprisonment and escape of the legendary gentleman pirate, Pierre Lafitte. The opera opens as a tour guide regales visitors with the story of Lafitte and his love, Lady Valerie. The group moves on but one of the tourists, Mary, remains in the cell, falls asleep and, through her dreams, Lafitte’s escape comes to life.
In The Gitanos,a band of travelers gathers in an orange grove near the palace of an Andalusian nobleman on a day of celebration, knowing that it is customary for the nobleman’s daughter, Isola, to offer blessings to passersby. This charming opera was written for women’s voices and will be performed by some of Sacramento’s finest female singers.
Both of these beautiful short operas will be presented as semi-staged readings with their original chamber ensemble orchestrations. Direction by Robert Vann with musical direction and conducting by Anne-Marie Endres.The Gitanos, music by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, words by Edward Oxenford The Cabildo, music by Amy Beach, words by Nan Bagly Stephens and presented with permission by the MacDowell Colony
DRACULA;
or THE TOWN OF SIBIU
(a reimagining of Gilbert & Sullivan’s most famous comic opera, THE MIKADO)
Set in the Romanian town of Sibiu, Antoniu, the son of Dracula, disguises himself as a wandering minstrel to escape an unwanted marriage. He falls in love with Nadia, a beautiful schoolgirl betrothed to the Lord High Executioner, Cocos. The plot unfolds into hilarious, topsy-turvy, chaos and true love rises “triumphant overall”
Our production contains all of the witty dialogue and tuneful music of the original (“Three Little Maids”, “I’ve Got a Little List”, “The Sun Whose Rays”), reimagined in 15th-century Romania during the reign of Vlad the Impaler (Dracula). Presented staged with live orchestra at the 24th Street Theater. Dates will be available soon!