Product: Menotti - Amahl and the Night Visitors (1955)
Rating: 4.0
Enjoyable classic
This is a film recording (kinescope) of the 1955 live telecast of Menotti's treasured opera. The performers are all excellent, and the mother and Amahl are splendid. Bill McIver as Amahl is extremely earnest and blessed with beautiful singing throughout. The kings blend well in their songs. The dances featuring the townspeople are very nice indeed. The orchestra is excellent.This production was staged for television, in television's early days, under the supervision of the composer. By today's standards, the staging and props are sparse. For example, the scenes outside the home use the bare studio floor, without any attempt to create realism. The talents of the performers rise above these shortcomings.From a technical perspective, this is of course a very old recording in black and white, with mono sound. The high frequencies of the recording have been lost, possibly in a misguided attempt to reduce noise inherent in the original. The result is that some of the words are very hard to understand. I find it helpful to turn on the English subtitles while watching it. There are several cameras used for different angles, and each has its own characteristic of grain and contrast -- an interesting window into the technical aspects of early television. This was a live telecast, and so the camera operators were responsible for panning as various scenes unfold; there are occasional minor misses during some scenes.Amahl was first telecast in 1951, with the original broadcast being available at the Museum of Broadcast Communications Archives. The scene compositions and camera angles of this production are nearly identical with the original 1951 performance. In general, this 1955 production is smoother and more mature than the 1951 original. Many cast members reprise their roles from the original production, with the notable exception of Bill McIver here as Amahl which was originally performed by Chet Allen. Bill McIver held this role for several successive annual productions.The special features on the DVD are really interesting, especially the interview with Rosemary Kuhlmann (the mother) where she discusses at length her experience working with Menotti and the other actors in this and other productions of Amahl.