Gian Carlo Menotti: Amahl and The Night Visitors; My Christmas

Gian Carlo Menotti (Composer), Alastair Willis (Conductor), George Mabry (Conductor), Nashville Symphony and Chorus (Orchestra), Bart LeFan (Performer), Kevin Short (Performer), Todd Thomas (Performer), Kirsten Gunlogson (Performer), Dean Anthony (Performer), Chicago Symphony Chorus (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Bart LeFan, Kevin Short, Todd Thomas, Kirsten Gunlogson, Dean Anthony, et al.
• Orchestra: Nashville Symphony and Chorus
• Conductor: Alastair Willis, George Mabry
• Composer: Gian Carlo Menotti
• Audio CD (November 18, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos American
• ASIN: B001HBX8XM
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #149,962 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Digital remake with reservations, November 28, 2008

By 

Alan Montgomery "Opera lover" (Oberlin, Oh USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gian Carlo Menotti: Amahl and The Night Visitors; My Christmas (Audio CD)

It still gives me goosebumps. The 1951 RCA recording of Amahl and the Night Visitors - starring Chet Allen, Rosemary Kuhlmann, David Aiken, Andrew McKinley and Leon Lishner, conducted by a young Thomas Schippers - has always been the benchmark for this work. I saw the 1951 premiere of this opera, and most of the broadcasts since then. Even the DVD with almost the same cast as the 1951 (except Amahl) is a little less perfect. The Stratas movie (directed by Menotti) was wonderful, and yet still didn't surpass the recording that is now 57 years old! Don't let the age deter, it is still a must.

But what of the new Naxos release. Well, first of all everyone sings in a more operatic fashion, coming from stage performances that preceded this recording. Kirsten Gunlogson has a rich voice and sings the role of the mother expertly. Her dramatic stance and timbre are similar to Kuhlmann. Her "All that gold" builds to a thrilling climax. She is not quite as smooth as her counterpart, but it is not a troublesome difference, and even Kuhlmann changed her ease with the role as she matured. The three kings are not quite as intimate as on the RCA, but again this is singing for the theater not microphones (even though it is not an "in performance" recording.) Their voices are well dilineated, with highest vocal and diction honors going to Todd Thomas as Melchior. The other two are not far behind. Alastair Willis conducts a performance that, in the musical numbers, is quite similar to Schippers. Only the recitatives are too "lyric" which, in this case means, too sung and not parlando (spoken) enough. Some of them are really just too slow. This recording ticks in at 49 minutes as opposed to RCA 46, and most of that difference is in the recitatives. The large chorus does their job very well. (The recording gives a sound "cover" to the chorus a bit, but not objectionably.)

Why have I left Amahl to last? It seems a shame to pick on young Ike Hawkersmith, because in many ways he does an excellent job. He is musically alert, squarely on pitch, and he has some real ideas about how to get to us with certain lines. "Have you - have you a stone that would cure a crippled boy?" is really sad and plaintive. But all the intelligence and musicallity can't disguise the fact that his voice is rather small and bordering on whiny. There is dramatically good reason for this, but it doesn't work quite as well on disc as it probably did in the theater. This role and Mr. Hawkersmith will make or break the recording for most. I still enjoyed it - but there is still the audible image of Allen, William McIver (in 1955) and Robert Sapolsky to contend with.

The filler, My Christmas by Menotti, is a pleasant choral work. It doesn't excite the Christmas spirit in me as much as the opera does. But it is still a pleasant work, running 12 and a half minutes, and worth having a new recording of.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amahl and the Night Visitors, January 17, 2010

By 

Beth Evans (Ithaca, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gian Carlo Menotti: Amahl and The Night Visitors; My Christmas (Audio CD)

An excellent presentation of Menotti's wonderfully engaging opera, which not only highlights the story of the Three Wisemen, but also presents the tenderness of the mother-child bond.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Production and Recording of "Amahl and the Night Visitors.", January 18, 2009

By 

Kelly Brighton (Manhattan Beach, Ca. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gian Carlo Menotti: Amahl and The Night Visitors; My Christmas (Audio CD)

"Amahl & the Night Visitors" is one of Gian Carlo Menotti's most beautiful works. Had it not been a "Christmas Opera," it might be more widely known and performed. This production is wonderfully produced and recorded. I highly recommend it for everyone.

Enjoy!