Undergraduate Opera Studio Brings Holiday Classic Back to UK

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 10, 2014) — For many years in the 1990s and early 2000s, University of Kentucky Opera Theatre presented the holiday classic “Amahl and the Night Visitors” each season. After a 13-year hiatus, UK Opera Theatre’s youngest voices perform the one-act opera for a new generation. The UK Opera Theatre Undergraduate Studio and the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestras (CKYO) present three performances of this 45-minute opera, originally composed for NBC, Dec. 12 and 13, at the historic Lyric Theatre & Cultural Arts Center.

"Amahl" is the story of a young, crippled boy and the miracle that cures him while the three kings are searching for the newborn king. As a result, Amahl wishes to take his crutch to the child as his gift. Gian Carlo Menotti’s inspiration for the piece was Hireonymus Bosch’s painting "The Adoration of the Magi." The opera premiered on NBC television on Christmas Eve 1951. For a full synopsis of the opera, visit UK Opera Theatre’s website.

Audiences attending "Amahl" this weekend will have an opportunity to bring a gift of their own to help those in need this holiday season. UK Opera Theatre is proud to partner with God’s Pantry Food Bank to help families in need in the Central Kentucky region. With a $6 (cash or check) donation, or 10 canned vegetables or soups (15oz. or more), donors will be entered to win two tickets to the June 2015 production of “It’s a Grand Night For Singing!”

“Amahl” is directed by UK artist-in-residence Gregory Turay. Alumnus Daniel Chetel, of CKYO, serves as conductor and music director. Bob Pickering has designed a new set for the production, with costumes by Susan Dudley Wigglesworth.  

UK Opera Theatre and CKYO will present three performances of "Amahl and the Night Visitors" 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12, and 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec.13, at the Lyric Theatre. Tickets are $22.50 for general admission and $12.50 for students. To purchase tickets contact the Lyric Theatre box office at 859-280-2218 or visit online at http://lexingtonlyric.tix.com.

UK Opera Theatre is part of the UK School of Music at the UK College of Fine Arts. The school has garnered a national reputation for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, composition, and theory and music history.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu