Christmas operas are operas which are thematically based on either the Nativity of Jesus or secular Christmas stories.
 The earliest Christmas operas appeared in the early 17th century, not long after the creation of the art form.
 Because of the ban on secular theatrical works during the season of Advent, these early Christmas operas, while elaborately staged, were based on religious themes relating to the Nativity.
 By the mid 19th century the ban on secular operas during Advent had ceased, and operas based on a wider array of Christmas themes, such as Santa Claus and King Wenceslaus, emerged.
 Several operas have been inspired by Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol", including works by composers Bernard Herrmann and Thea Musgrave.
 The story of the Magi has also been the basis of several operas, including Gian Carlo Menotti's 1951 opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors".
 Initially written for television performance, Menotti's opera has become the only modern Christmas opera to earn an enduring place in the live opera performance repertoire.
 In the 21st century, composer Kevin Puts' "Silent Night" (2011) achieved critical success and won the Pulitzer Prize for music in 2012.
Labyrinth is an opera in one act by composer Gian Carlo Menotti.
 The work was commissioned for television by the NBC Opera Theatre and uses an English language libretto by the composer.
 Unlike Menotti's previous television operas, such as "Amahl and the Night Visitors", this opera was written with no intention of being moved to live stage performance later.
 Menotti intended for this work to utilize the special effects unique to television which could not be recreated in live theatre.
 As a result, NBC's television production of the opera is the only performance the work has received.
 At its premiere in March 1963 the opera was mainly criticized by the press for its trite use of allegory and music which rejected the avante garde in favour of romanticism.
 Critic Harold C. Schonberg stated in his review in "The New York Times" that, "Menotti falls back on the procedures he has always used: the scraps of canonic imitation, the stretches of parlando, the Puccini like melodies, the banal waltz themes... [It] ended up an allegory that had all the dimension of a Mobius strip: an example of slick television and cinema of the 1960s wedded pretty much to music of the 1890s... On the whole "Labyrinth" is one of the thinnest musical concoctions Menotti has ever put together.
Dorothy Byrne is an American operatic mezzo-soprano.
 She has performed leading and comprimario roles at several opera houses in the United States, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Chicago Opera Theater, the Boston Lyric Opera, the Des Moines Metro Opera, the Hawaii Opera Theatre, the Kentucky Opera, the Minnesota Opera, and the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis among others.
 She portrayed the role of Rosalind in the Glimmerglass Opera's 2005 production of Richard Rodney Bennett's "The Mines of Sulphur" and participated in the company's recording which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.
 She returned to Glimmerglass in 2006 to portray Mme. Follenvie in the world premiere of Stephen Hartke's "The Greater Good, or the Passion of Boule de Suif".
 In 2007 she performed the role of Lydia in the premiere of David Carlson's "Anna Karenina" at the Florida Grand Opera.
Gian Carlo Menotti (] ; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian-American composer and librettist.
 Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept his Italian citizenship.
 He wrote the classic Christmas opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors", along with over two dozen other operas intended to appeal to popular taste.
Rosemary Kuhlmann (born January 30, 1922) is an American operatic mezzo-soprano and Broadway musical actress most known for originating the role of the Mother in Gian Carlo Menotti's "Amahl and the Night Visitors", the first opera commissioned for television.
 Kuhlmann portrayed the role on the annual live NBC broadcast of the production from 1951 through 1962.
Frances Lillian Bible (January 26, 1919 – January 29, 2001) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano who had a thirty-year-long career at the New York City Opera between 1948 and 1978.
 She also made a fair number of opera appearances with other companies throughout the United States, but only made a limited number of appearances abroad.
 Martin Bernheimer wrote in "Opera News" that, "Frances Bible was cheated by destiny.
 She never quite achieved the international recognition she deserved.
 Bible had it all—a mellow, wide-ranging mezzo-soprano, an attractive stage presence, genuine theatrical flair, a probing mind and a technique that allowed her to sing bel-canto filigree one night, Verdian drama the next.
 She was one of the rare American singers who savor the English language.
 She understood the value of economy, never stooping to easy effects.
 Perhaps she was too versatile, too tasteful and — dare one say it?
 — too intelligent for her own good."
Chet R. Allen (May 6, 1939 – June 17, 1984) was an American child actor of the 1950s known for his role as Amahl in Gian Carlo Menotti's "Amahl and the Night Visitors", the first opera written for television, which he made with the NBC Opera Theatre.
David Aiken (October 4, 1917 – July 23, 2011) was an American operatic baritone, opera director, and United States Army Air Corps (USSAC) officer.
 He was particularly associated with the works of Gian Carlo Menotti, and is best remembered for creating the role of King Melchior in the world premiere of Menotti's "Amahl and the Night Visitors".
Amahl and the Night Visitors is a 1957 Australian TV play.
 It was a filmed version of the opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors" by Menotti.
 The ABC had previously televised Menotti's "The Telephone" and this was the second opera they broadcast.
Zheng Cao (July 9, 1966February 21, 2013) was a Chinese-born, American operatic mezzo-soprano known for her signature role of Suzuki in "Madama Butterfly".
 She performed this role with opera companies such as San Francisco Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Pittsburgh Opera, Vancouver Opera, Washington National Opera, San Diego Opera, and under the baton of Seiji Ozawa with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
 Her portrayal of the role of Cherubino in "The Marriage of Figaro" also earned her recognition at several American opera companies, including San Francisco Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, and Houston Grand Opera.
 She died from lung cancer in San Francisco, California in 2013.

Question: Which Italian-American composer who wrote the classic Christmas opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors", had an American operatic mezzo-soprano and Broadway musical actress most known for originating the role of the Mother?
Answer: Gian Carlo Menotti