Opera to spread Christmas joy

A ONE act opera which tells the story of the Three Wise Men travelling to Bethlehem will be performed at Buninyong Uniting Church next month.

Cordelia’s Potted Operas will perform Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors on Sunday 24 November with a Christmas afternoon tea to be served after the performance.

It is the first opera which was written specifically for the small screen in the United States and from 1951 until 1966, it was performed on television every Christmas Eve.

The Three Wise Men, while travelling to Bethlehem, stop to rest at the cottage of a mother and her son, and trouble arises.

“Something happens in the middle of the night that will change Amahl and his mother’s life forever,” said director Stee Cordelia.

“It’s just a different way of telling the [Christmas] story rather than having the usual readings and the popular Christmas carols.”

Ms Cordelia said this is the perfect opera for both adults and children.

“The music is beautiful, it’s colourful and it’s short so it only goes for about 45 minutes,” she said.

“It’s just the story in music, in English, and once you hear it you want to hear it again.”

Tickets cost $35 for an adult and $10 for a child and can be purchased at bit.ly/3BCEqgJ.