Commentary
Ballet has an annual Christmas tradition, “The Nutcracker,” which is performed by almost every ballet company and school year after year. However, opera doesn’t have a counterpart which is as nearly as popular. The main holiday opera is “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” an American chamber opera about a crippled shepherd boy who meets the Three Magi which was written for television by Gian Carlo Menotti in 1951. While its short runtime and limited cast makes it easier for performance in small venues, it’s a little too simplistic to be a mainstage opera production for most opera companies. There are some other Christmas-themed operas, but few are well-known.
