NEW YORK – Amahl and the Night Visitors by Gian Carlo Menotti was presented on December 15 by Kyrenia Opera, under the direction of Constantinos Yiannoudes, at the Church of the Heavenly Rest in Manhattan.
The story of Amahl is a Christmas fairytale that transports us to Judea at the time of Jesus’ birth where a small disabled boy lives with his mother. The Three Wise Men, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, traveling to Bethlehem to offer their gifts to the Baby Jesus, arrive at Amahl’s poor home.
Despite their poverty, Amahl’s mother offers them hospitality, and learning about the story of Jesus, Amahl wants to offer a gift to the newborn Christ-child. Amahl’s most valuable possession is his crutch and he offers it generously. On this magical night, his selflessness will be rewarded with a miracle.
Amahl is a one-act opera and the first one created for the NBC television network. It was first presented to the audience at Rockefeller Center on December 24, 1951. The General and Artistic Director of Kyrenia Opera spoke to The National Herald and explained to us how he ended up choosing the project.
“The choice of Amahl goes much further back in time. It has to do with Kyrenia. As a child, I had a soprano voice and we intended to record the Gian Carlo Menotti opera. When the tragic invasion took place, it remained inside me as a great trauma. I felt they stole my childhood. There are very few operas that are written for children. So when my student, Shira Brener, sings, it reminds me of my childhood and how much I wanted to sing this role,” said Mr. Yiannoudes.
Although later in his career, Yiannoudes, among his many leading roles, also played the role of the Wise Man Melchior, he always had this trauma from his childhood and repressed it that he never played the role of Amahl. “I was looking for a way to help a child sing it. Honestly, I feel that tonight I’m completing a bit of my childhood that was stolen by the Turks,” he said with emotion.
“I feel like I am a servant of the public and art serves the public. My artistic feeling does not lend itself to offhand impressions. I always feel like a chef. I follow the rules faithfully, making inevitable, small variations. The Opera offers education,” Yiannoudes said.
The mission of Kyrenia Opera is to forge and strengthen the artistic connection between New York and Cyprus, with dynamic productions and the discovery of new talents. Yiannoudes, a gifted baritone, has performed leading opera roles in the U.S. and in Europe. Rigoletto, Macbeth, Don Giovanni, the Barber of Seville, and many others are among the roles he has played. One of his upcoming projects, which he was not yet ready to discuss in detail, has to do with his homeland, Cyprus.
The extraordinary Zoe Nicolaidou played the role of Amahl’s mother, while the role of Amahl was played by Shira Brener. The painting on the poster for the show was created by Yiannoudes’ nephew, Anikitos Giannoudis.
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