Opera Basics
What is the name of the text or words of an opera
libretto
Italy
Who composed Amahl and the Night Visitors
Gian Carlo Menotti
The poor shepherd boy with a disability is the main character of the opera
Who is Amahl?
Amahl and the Night Visitors was the first opera in the US created specifically for this medium.
What is television?
What type of peformance combines singing, music, acting, and stage design
opera
Opera began around the end of which century
16th century
What makes Amahl and the Night Visitors unique in American Opera History
It was the first opera written specifically for television
This character represents the struggles of poverty and fear while still showing deep love for her child
Who is Amahl's mother?
The opera features this type of boy who can sing the main role, which is unusual in opera casting.
What is a boy soprano?
what group of musicians plays the music for an opera
orchestra
What city is often considered the birthplace of opera
Florence
In what year did Amahl and the Night Visitors premiere?
1951
These characters bring both wealth and spiritual purpose, setting the main conflict of the opera in motion.
Who are the Three Wise Men?
Amahl and the Night Visitors was broadcast live from this iconic place in NYC?
What is Rockefeller Center?
what is a solo song in an opera called
aria
What famous composer helped develop early opera in the 1600s
Claudio Monteverdi
On which television network did Amahl first air?
NBC
What mistake does Amahl's mother make that reveals the moral conflict between desperation and honesty?
Trying to steal gold from the Wise Men
The composer Gian Carlo Menotti won this award in 1952 for his work on Amahl and the Night Visitors?
What is the Emmy Award?
why do opera singers usually not use microphones
because they are trained to project their voices powerfully across the theater
Why was opera considered revolutionary when it was first created
because it combined drama and music into one complete form of art
On what holiday was Amahl and the Night Visitors originally broadcast?
Christmas Eve
What event demonstrates the opera's central message that generosity and faith can lead to transformation?
Amahl offering his crutch and being miraculously healed.
Unlike many operas, Amahl is performed in this amount of time, making it easier for children and families to enjoy
What is about 45 minutes?