A standout “Amahl” closes the year with warm Christmas spirit
Gian Carlo Menotti wrote of his Amahl and the Night Visitors, “This is an opera for children because it tries to recapture my own childhood.” While that may not add up as a logical statement—Proust in Swann’s Way does something similar, yet it’s definitely not for kids—Menotti’s classic one-act Christmas operetta abounds with youthful wonder and forthright expression.
Those attributes were amply conveyed in the exceptional performance that John Macfarlane produced and conducted to a capacity house at Nichols Concert Hall in Evanston on Sunday evening.
Macfarlane is assistant principal second violin of the Lyric Opera Orchestra, artistic director of the Rembrandt Chamber Musicians, as well as a vocalist and conductor. He presided over a moving and creative Amahl that made clear his talents range far more widely than his accomplished violin playing. Shakespearean veteran Susan Hart directed in her operatic debut; and if Sunday’s production is any indication, her collaboration with Macfarlane is a generative one from which one hopes to see more in the future.
Menotti wrote Amahl in 1951 as the first opera commissioned and intended for television. It tells the story of a poor widow and her son Amahl, who walks with a crutch, as they are visited by the Three Kings seeking rest on their journey to attend the birth of the baby Jesus. Amahl’s injury is healed when he offers his crutch to the Kings to add to their gifts for the coming Christ Child, and he parts from his mother to accompany them the rest of the way.
Macfarlane fielded a stellar cast to portray this simple story of devotion and sacrifice. Menotti called Amahl “the focal figure of the opera” and Macfarlane’s son Graham sang the title role in a pure, projected treble that beguilingly embodied its boyish innocence and mischief.
Angela Born was compelling as Amahl’s devoted mother, singing with a rich mezzo that she deployed to capture the natural array of parental emotions her character encounters over the course of the visitation, especially in her final, accepting farewell to her son. She and Macfarlane fils had an impeccable rapport, particularly in the early scene where Amahl announces the Kings’ sequential arrival to his mother’s exasperated disbelief.
David Cangelosi (Kaspar), Noah Gartner (Melchior), and Khary Laurent (Balthazar) were cast as the Three Kings. All three possess rich voices that palpably projected the solemnity of their religious quest. Cangelosi, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Mime in Wagner’s Ring, demonstrated his comedic bona fides when his hard-of-hearing character takes Amahl through the contents of his traveler’s box. Jeremiah Strickler was a capable Page, bringing damning fury to his discovery of Amahl’s mother stealing from the Kings.
At his mother’s instruction, Amahl summons shepherds and shepherdesses to attend the Kings, and an octet of these descended the aisles of Nichols Hall to the evocatively rustic choreography of John Marshall, Jr., which continued onstage. The volunteer vocal ensemble Coriolis made an excellent offstage shepherd choir, adding vocal heft from the wings to the terpsichorean efforts of their colleagues.
Macfarlane presided over a 20-piece orchestra of Lyric Opera players and area freelancers. From the searching opening bars they provided a supple accompaniment to the unfolding drama, fully in sync with Menotti’s characterful, neo-Romantic idiom under Macfarlane’s leadership. Principal oboe Paul Lueders channeled a shepherd’s piping in his extended reedy solos, which the young Macfarlane endearingly pantomimed on a panpipe.
Bridget Williams’ lighting facilitated the subtly shifting moods of the extended nighttime scene, and Cindy Moon’s simple shepherd costumes captured the biblical feel, with the Kings’ regalia standing out for its comparative opulence.
Susan Hart deserves enormous credit for the success of this performance, as it unfolded with the natural dramatic rhythm one expects from an experienced troupe. She also made inventive use of the Nichols space, whose confines are not obviously conducive to a staged production. She and Macfarlane, along with the rest of the musicians and cast, received roaring applause from a clearly appreciative audience, who had experienced what one can trust will be a highlight of their holiday seasons.
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2 Responses to “A standout “Amahl” closes the year with warm Christmas spirit”
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Posted Dec 22, 2025 at 12:13 pm by pauline
Looking forward to more of this duo. Macfarlane and Hart. Two distinguished talents being together a beautiful story. I hope we see multiple stagings of this performance.
Posted Dec 22, 2025 at 4:07 pm by Joe
Amahl came to life through Graham and John MacFarlane, and their team’s efforts!! I didn’t realize until the performance was over that Amahl’s little panpipe wasn’t producing the beautiful oboe like sound! :) It was a beautiful performance that brought watered our eyes throughout the theater!!
And a perfect Advent before Christmas as we yearned for the arrival of the Holy Family! :)
Thank you!!