Menotti: Amahl and the Night Visitors

Gian Carlo Menotti (Composer), Thomas Schippers (Conductor), NBC Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Rosemary Kuhlmann (Performer), Chet Allen (Performer), Davis Aiken (Performer), Frank Monachino (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Rosemary Kuhlmann, Chet Allen, Davis Aiken, Frank Monachino
• Orchestra: NBC Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Thomas Schippers
• Composer: Gian Carlo Menotti
• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003EPE
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,326 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #38 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Languages > English
  • #74 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Historical Periods > Modern & 20th Century

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: MENOTTI,G.C.
Title: AMAHL & THE NIGHT VISITORS-COM
Street Release Date: 07/16/1999
Domestic
Genre: OPERA/OPERETTA

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Oldie,but a goodie!, November 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Menotti: Amahl and the Night Visitors (Audio CD)

Christmastime and watching the HallMark Hall of Fame production of Amahl were never a separate thing for us when we grew up... Imagine a time when real art was on TV? When quality was paramount? There was a time,and we waited for it like waiting for Santa: First came Amahl on Christmas Eve,then we went to bed trying very hard to hear whether or not we,too would be able to hear the 3 kings in the distance....... I own both this recording,and the new one that came out a couple of years ago by the gang at the Royal Opera. While the most recent recording may be technically a better recording, for me there will never be another person singing that mother's part except for that lady on the live recording....her voice is so light,yet strong. Perhaps what someone trying to scrape by on nothing would have to be. I love the first recording, and I like it even better digitally remastered. It's never going to sound as "perfect" as the newer digital one,but that's probably one of its most endearing qualities. None of live music is ever completely perfect.Like humanity. The newer one sounds too much like a recital: Too perfect(for me). This one,for me was spontaneous,like life: Full of real emotion. Spend the money,go for it...you won't be sorry. Allow yourself to believe,just as that little boy believed........and if you have a chance, go in person to one of the many performances presented this christmas in your area. You'll appreciate this live recording even more. You won't be sorry.

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars By far the best, November 11, 2001

By 

Amy Anich (Evanston, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Menotti: Amahl and the Night Visitors (Audio CD)

This is the only recording of Amahl & the Night Visitors worth having. As other reviewers have stated, there are other recordings with more technical clarity, but absolutely no other compares to the purity, warmth, and feeling present in this original cast production. I am not an opera fan but have loved "Amahl" since childhood - it brings tears to my eyes every year. Give it a try!

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN OLD FRIEND, December 28, 2001

By 

MOVIE MAVEN (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Menotti: Amahl and the Night Visitors (Audio CD)

How wonderful to re-visit an old friend after many years and find that he or she has not only survived, but has grown more interesting and beautiful with time. This is exactly how I feel about Gian Carlo Menotti's lovely opera AMAHL AND THE NIGHT VISITORS.

As a child, I not only watched it on television, but saw it on the stage in various venues, including Hunter College, even as recently as about one dozen years ago when a friend played Amahl's mother in a semi-staged concert version in New York's Avery Fisher Hall.

Written originally as an opera for children, it certainly also speaks to adults. As to why children, even children who are totally uninterested in opera, appreciate AMAHL..., it is pretty easy to figure out that no character in the opera ever sings just for the sake of singing. All of the music comes naturally out of the simple characters, so that the beautiful music can be listened to without thinking that the characters are "putting on airs" or "showing off their vocal skills." The libretto, also, is simplicity itself: all of the words seem totally fitting for the five characters: a mother, her crippled son and their three royal visitors. Even the dance music does not overstay its welcome. One wishes that other opera composers would take a lesson from Menotti: say what you want to say and don't repeat it ad infinitum.

This "original cast" 1952 recording can be enjoyed thoroughly even though the sound is not as sharp as a newer recording might have. The entire cast is terrific and Chet Allen as "Amahl" is completely believable, sweet and absolutely touching when he asks his mother if he may visit Christ in the manger. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR BOTH ADULTS AND CHILDREN.