A Christmas tale about faith and generosity is coming to Fort Worth in the form of an opera.
The Fort Worth Opera will stage four performances of “Amahl and the Night Visitors” at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden Dec. 8-10.
“Amahl and the Night Visitors” tells the story of a shepherd boy and his mother who are visited by three wisemen seeking shelter while on their journey to Bethlehem to see the Christ child. Amahl can only walk with the use of a crutch. He lives with his mother, who is a widow.
If you go:
What: “Amahl and the Night Visitors” performed by the Fort Worth Opera
Where: Fort Worth Botanic Garden, 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd.
When:
- 2 p.m. Dec. 8
- 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Dec. 9
- 2 p.m. Dec. 10
Admission: adults, $30; ages 15 or younger and 65 or older, $20
The four performance times are divided between two Fort Worth Opera casts. Rebecca Germany, who plays Amahl’s mother, will perform in shows on Friday and Saturday afternoons.
Germany has performed “Amahl and the Night Visitors” before. She enjoys the different take that stage director Erica Vernice Simmons has on Germany’s character, she said.
“I realize how much more interactive she has the mother being and the trueness to the character because that’s what we want to see. We want to see something relatable on stage,” Germany said.
Finding new ways to tell a story originally composed in the 1950s by Gian Carlo Menotti, has been both challenging and fun, Simmons said.
One way Simmons is trying to liven this performance of “Amahl and the Night Visitors” is by inserting humor in new ways. For example, during a scene where Amahl gets in an altercation with another character, Amahl kicks him in the butt.
“That adds a little bit of laughter and breaks up the monotony of the seriousness or gravity of the scene. So there are a couple of places where we have a little bit more physical comedy,” Simmons said.
Andres Losada, a studio artist with Fort Worth Opera, plays King Balthazr in performances on Friday and Saturday afternoons. In addition to the music and comedic moments, Losada said that this year’s performance will also incorporate dance.
Attendees will enjoy a medley of artistic elements during the performance, he said.
“As an opera singer, you are acting, you’re singing, you’re thinking on technique. You’re thinking of words. And now you’re thinking of dancing,” Losada said. “That’s the magic of opera, because we have a lot of different kinds of arts in the same place.”
Where else can I see “Amahl and the Night Visitors”?
Texas Christian University’s School of Music will also have an opera performance of “Amahl and the Night Visitors.”
Where: St. Stephen Presbyterian Church, 2700 McPherson Ave.
When:
- 7 p.m. Dec. 8
- 7 p.m. Dec. 9
Admission: $10; free for TCU students, staff and faculty presenting a school ID
Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org or on Twitter @marissaygreene.At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.