REVIEW: OSO's Amahl Warms the Heart
Photo by B. A. Van Sise.
December 6, 2019
By Brian Taylor
If you require an antidote to the world’s problems this holiday season, On Site Opera has the recipe. It’s called hope, and it is delivered via a heartwarming concoction: Gian-Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, a family-friendly and Christmas-y one-act opera, in an immersive, inclusive production happening in the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen, in Chelsea, in partnership with Breaking Ground, an important organization helping the homeless.
The Adoration of the Magi by Hieronymus Bosch
Eric Einhorn’s focused, honest, and — in just the right measure — funny, production aims to “[connect] this timeless story of charity and miracles with the prevalent issue of homelessness in NYC.” Einhorn sets the story — inspired by The Adoration of the Magi, a painting by Hieronymus Bosch hanging in the Metropolitan Museum —in an urban soup kitchen, and stages it there too.
Menotti’s charming Amahl sounds as fresh today as it must have when it premiered live on NBC in 1951. Menotti penned the economical libretto himself, and described it — the first opera composed for television — as an opera for children. But, just like holiday TV classics A Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Amahl endures because its characters and message continue to resonate with adults.
OSO Music Director Geoffrey McDonald, conducting a top-notch orchestra comprised of members of the American Modern Ensemble, skillfully leads a performance that tells the story with thoughtfulness and warmth. The performances and singing are great. Benjamin Barham Wiese (alternating in the role with Devin Zamir Coleman) is earnest and pure as crutch-bound Amahl. He forges a tender bond with soprano Aundi Marie Moore, who plays his trying-hard-as-she-can Mother. The Three Kings, Julius Ahn, tenor, as Kaspar, Daniel Belcher, baritone, as Melchior (alternating with Joshua Jeremiah), and Musa Ngqungwana, bass-baritone, as Balthazar, are soaring and perfect.
Photo by B. A. Van Sise
Costume designer Jessica Jahn creatively anchors us in the world of the homeless shelter. “Have you seen a child the color of wheat, the color of dawn?” asks the “king” Melchior, donning a cardboard Burger King “crown.” Kaspar sings protectively of the “magic stones” in a cereal box in “This is my box…” Moore disappears into the role of the Mother, sounding resplendent in such yearning moments as,“All That Gold.”
OSO’s production includes a chorus of shepherds “made up of community members who have experienced homelessness,” expertly prepared by chorus master Michael A. Ciavaglia. Enthusiastic, joyful dancers are winning in graceful, energetic choreography by Winston A. Benons, Jr.
Amahl, in a metaphor that resonates this holiday season, decides that he “can walk.” At a time when positive values are vulnerable to attack, Menotti’s relevant drama resonates with the spirit of the season. Bring some non-perishable food to donate, and be reminded what Christmas is all about.
