Marietta College Opera Workshop to present 'Amahl and the Night Visitors'

Marietta, Ohio (04/11/2019) — The Marietta College Department of Music is presenting an Opera Workshop - Amahl and the Night Visitors by Gian Carlo Menotti - at 7:30 p.m., Monday, April 15, in Hermann 217.

"The cast of this opera has been working extremely hard all semester to prepare and perform this opera," said Marshall Kimball, Chairman of the Music Department. "It is a very accessible opera for everyone and a story that can be enjoyed by all. Dr. Amy Yekel, a dramatic soprano, has performed in numerous operas and knows what it takes to put together a project like this. She has successfully cast this opera to help the students develop, as well as show their strengths as vocalists. It will be a delightful evening for all in attendance."

Amahl and the Night Visitors, a one-act opera, is presented in English, unlike many operas. This opera, inspired by Hieronymus Bosch's painting "Adoration of the Magi" symbolizes a significant milestone in opera's history as it was the first opera to be specifically commissioned for television. Menotti alone wrote the story, libretto, and the music. Amahl was first performed by NBC Studios in New York City and was broadcast live on December 24, 1961. It received rave reviews and has become a popular opera for the general public, as well as opera enthusiasts. Amahl and the Night Visitors has taken its place with A Christmas Carol, Miracle on 34th Street, and It's A Great Life as holiday classics.

The opera is under the direction of Yekel, who is a voice professor, with piano accompaniment furnished by the Music Department Collaborative Pianist, Merewyn Weinkauf.

The event is free and open to the public. Ample parking is available in the parking lot next to the Hermann Fine Arts Center.

Located in Marietta, Ohio, at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio rivers, Marietta College is a four-year liberal arts college. Tracing its roots to the Muskingum Academy back in 1797, the College was officially chartered in 1835. Today Marietta College serves a body of 1,200 full-time students. The College offers 49 majors and is consistently ranked as one of the top regional comprehensive colleges by U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review, as well as one of the nation's best by Forbes.com. Marietta was selected seventh in the nation according to the Brookings Institution's rankings of colleges by their highest value added, regardless of major.

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