Amahl and the Night Visitors
So, yesterday, we went to Noel Night, but earlier in the month, I had planned to be somewhere else.
When I was in elementary school, my music teacher exposed me to my first full taste of opera. Now, I knew about opera and had heard clips, I could only enjoy most of it moderately because, at the time, I could not get over the fact that most of it was in a language other than English.
So, probably around fourth or fifth grade, my teacher, Mr. Folson played “Amahl and the Night Visitors” for us. Unbeknown to us, this was the first opera commissioned for American television, and it tells the story of a little boy and the wise men that come to visit him on the way to see the newborn baby Jesus. It has been a Christmas classic since, but they stopped playing it on TV years ago. So, I have never seen it, although I know most of the music well.
So, there was going to be a performance of it yesterday at the Millennium Center and I had planned to go. Those plans fell through, though. I did not have a good way to get there. I had planned to ask my brother to drop me off, but he was having car trouble at the time. I didn’t think that my parents or sister would be interested in actually going, it being an opera and all, so there was no buying an extra ticket and them taking me. I did not want to ask them to come out to me and pick me up and drop me off, and then have to come back and pick me up from it and then drop me back at home, so I just gave up the idea of going. I guess it was just as well because while tickets were $12, with all the fees added on, the price doubled to actually $24 after ticketmaster was done. That’s just ridiculous.
So, I am left still to wonder what an actual performance is like. But at least I can listen to the music still. One year. One year.
Comments