Amahl and the Night Visitors

In observance of Christmas, I'm doing a "nostalgia post." Back in 1985 and 1986, I sang the role of Amahl and Gian Carlo Menotti's light Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, for Opera West, a shoestring opera company headquartered in the Utah County area. It's an experience I look back on each Christmas very fondly. I have especially fond memories of 1986, when we went on tour to out-of-the-way places like Arco, Idaho, and Vernal, Utah. I'm sure this will be "old hat" for people who do dramatic performance, but the bonding within the troupe as we toured was an unusual experience for me (loner by temperament), and one that I think of as having spiritual dimensions, in part because of the religious themes of the performance.

This year, I tried Googling and Facebooking the major cast members to see if I could find out what they're up to now, almost 30 years later. I found rather less information than I'd hoped for, but it seems that the young man who played Balthazar, Michael Wadsworth, went on to have a singing career with some national recognition. I really wish I could have found out something about Donna Wellman, who played my mother. I learned a little about her past--she'd been singing that role for several years--but couldn't find anything about her more recent life. I'm guessing that Gene Larsson, who ran Opera West and sang the role of Melchior in 1986, has since died. (Forgive me, Gene, if you're alive and reading this!) Director Jerry Elison is still a prominent and beloved figure in the Utah County performing arts scene.

Here's a clip of my favorite aria from Amahl. It's not my troupe's performance--I don't have a DVD rip of that, unfortunately.