WCSU 2016 – WCSU Opera to present Amahl and the Night Visitors
DANBURY, CONN. — The Western Connecticut State University Opera will present the holiday classic “Amahl and the Night Visitors” in three performances on Friday, Dec. 9, and Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016.
Performances at 7 p.m. on Dec. 9 and at 2 p.m. on Dec. 10 will feature Western students in the principal adult roles. The WCSU Opera will celebrate its 22nd annual production of “Amahl” during the holiday season with a special evening performance at 7 p.m. on Dec. 10 that will cast several of the WCSU music program’s most accomplished alumni singers in the lead roles. All performances will be in Ives Concert Hall in White Hall on the university’s Midtown campus, 181 White St. in Danbury.
General admission will be $12, with a ticket price of $8 for senior citizens and children under 12.Advance reservations may be made online at www.wcsu.edu/tickets or by calling (203) 837-TIXX. Tickets also will be sold at the door.
The English-language opera in one act by Gian Carlo Menotti, originally commissioned for broadcast on the NBC television network in December 1951, has become a popular holiday tradition in the Danbury area over the past two decades. The opera, which runs approximately 50 minutes, tells the story of an impoverished and crippled shepherd boy’s encounter with the Three Kings on their way to Bethlehem and the heart-warming outcome of their chance meeting. In notes describing his composition of the opera, Menotti explained he was inspired by his fond memories of the Three Kings as the legendary source of Christmas gifts during his childhood in Italy.
The director and producer of the WCSU Opera production is Professor of Music Dr. Margaret Astrup. The Dec. 9 evening and Dec. 10 matinee presentations will feature a different cast of student and community players for each performance. These performers will include Braeden Callaghan, of Danbury, and Mason Harper, of Woodbury, as Amahl; Kaitlyn Carruthers, of Fairfield, and Deanna Broga, of Northford, as Amahl’s mother; Matthew Johnson, of Trumbull, and Edwin Rodriguez, of West Haven, as Kaspar; Matthew Feinberg, of Cheshire, and Samuel Cournoyer, of Seymour, as Melchior; Daniel Satter, of Trumbull, and Keith Shaw, of Bridgeport, as Balthazar; and Daniel Rehberg, of Old Saybrook, and Christopher Janis, of Naugatuck, as the Page.
This year’s production will conclude with the Dec. 10 evening performance featuring WCSU alumni in the principal adult roles. Alumni performers will include Cidalia Alves Kettles, of Fairfield, as Amahl’s Mother; Erick Sanchez, of Stamford, as Kaspar; Hernan Berisso, of Greenwich, as Melchior; Alex Patrie, of Waterbury, as Balthazar; and Nicholas Ciasullo, of Naugatuck, as the Page.
For more information, contact the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486.
Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England’s best small private universities.