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The American Opera Studio and Overland Park Orchestra with two dancers from the Midwest Regional Ballet came together to perform Gian Carlo Menotti’s holiday staple, Amahl and the Night Visitors. At nearly 60 years old, the opera, the first to be commissioned especially for televised broadcast, still has a magical quality due, in part, to Menotti’s infinitely singable score and family- (and religious institution-) friendly plot. As an alternative to Handel’s Messiah (which was never a Christmas piece to begin with), it was refreshing to have the opportunity to enjoy the Menotti.

Abby McNitt as the titular Amahl played the role with the required childlike innocence and her voice embodied the characteristics of a boy soprano. Her light voice was covered by the orchestra (split in two on the stage wings) if she was facing anywhere but directly at the audience. This hindered her acting ability and unfortunately Menotti did not do her any favors as two of Amahl’s arias are in tricky tempos. “Mother, mother, mother come with me” and “Don’t you dare” if too slow, as they were in Friday night’s performance, left McNitt visibly counting and dealing with having to throw extra punches in the too long fight scene; kudos to the Page Ryan Smith for taking the brunt of her bludgeoning.

As Amahl’s mother, Sanet Allen showcased a lovely voice and, like McNitt, excellent diction and pitch. She was able to project her voice over the orchestra except during it’s loudest passages and had a more natural acting ability. Her heartache was particularly palpable in “All that gold.” Allen shone brightest when in ensemble with the other singers. The final duet, “What to do with your crutch,” between Mother and Amahl was remarkably balanced and her timbre glided over the men’s voices in the best number of the opera “Have you seen a child?”

Bill Hall, as Melchior, was the most polished singer and actor. Andrew Etherington’s (Kaspar) tenor voice was light but his comedic timing was off. Notably, he made each stone’s name audible in the tricky “This is my box.” As Balthazar, Jim Kinney’s vocals sounded tight and covered as a result of forced bass pitches.

The Overland Park Orchestra’s oboes were the stars of the orchestra. With two equally demanding parts, they had to imitate Amahl’s shepherd pipe and toss off low tongued notes and florid scales with effortless grace. I wish the strings had matched the oboes’ ease as their intonation, especially in the violins, never settled. The accompanied choral numbers were also out-of-character; the caliber of singers that Hall has in his studio should not have needed the piano to assist them.

Even through its faults, I left the performance with a smile and was humming snippets of the “Have you seen a child” and the Shepherd’s Chorus on the drive home. No, they aren’t “Jingle Bells” or “Deck the Halls,” but they are just as charming and worthy.

REVIEW:
American Opera studio, Overland Park Orchestra, and Midwest Regional Ballet
Amahl and the Night Visitors and Christmas Favorites
Friday, December 3–Sunday, December 5 (Reviewed: Friday, December 3, 2010)
First Baptist Church of Overland Park
8200 W. 96^th St., Overland Park, KS
For more information visit http://www.americanoperastudio.com/ and http://www.oporchestra.com/

Photos by Kara Hess.  Top Photo: Abby McNitt and Sanet Allen.

By Lee Hartman

Editor-in-Chief; Traditional and New Classical Contributor

Lee Hartman holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (D.M.A., M.M.) and the University of Delaware (B.M.). At the University of Delaware, he received a Dean's Scholar position enabling him to pursue an individually designed academic program combining music education and composition. At the University of Missouri-Kansas City he served for three years as the Assistant Director to Musica Nova, the conservatory's new music ensemble, while teaching a variety of composition classes.

In 2007 he was invited to both the Iceland Academy of the Arts in Reykjavík, Iceland and the Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu, China to give lectures and master classes in composition. In the summer of 2009, Hartman served as an orchestra manager for the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble and Aspen Opera Theater Center for various performances. He serves on the National Executive Committee of the Society of Composers, Inc. as Submissions Coordinator. His primary composition instructors include James Mobberley, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Paul Rudy, John Beall, and Jennifer Margaret Barker. He currently teaches music theory at the University of Central Missouri and general music classes at Park University having previously taught at UD (2007–08) and UMKC (2006–07).

His compositions can be found at http://www.leehartmanmusic.com