OperX's “Amahl & the Night Visitors” and “Stolen Scenes,” April 20 through 23

Amahl & the Night Visitors: Friday, April 21, and Sunday, April 23

Stolen Scenes: Thursday, April 20, and Saturday, April 22

Augustana College's Brunner Theatre Center, 3750 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island IL

This spring, the student talents of Augustana College's OperX ensemble will treat audiences to alternating performances of both a full one-act opera and excerpts from the operatic repertoire, with the gifted singers and director Patrick McNally staging composer Gian Carlo Menotti's Amahl & the Night Visitors on April 21 and 23, and works by Mozart, Gilbert & Sullivan, Bizet, Monteverdi, and more in the vocal revue Stolen Scenes on April 20 and 22.

Based on Italian folk tales of the Nativity and Epiphany, Amahl & the Night Visitors is a retelling of the story of the Magi from the point of view of a young disabled boy named Amahl, who lives in poverty with his widowed mother near Bethlehem. He sees a bright star in the sky one night and tells his mother to go look, but she brushes him off, buried in concern over their bleak future and lack of means with which to support themselves. That night, three kings come across their meager hut and seek shelter, for they have traveled long and far following the star of which Amahl had spoken. They bring with them treasure and gifts to give to “the Child” who has just been born and who will reign over all. Blinded by the lure of the gold and what it could do for her family, Amahl's mother attempts to steal just a bit of the treasure, but is caught red-handed. What no one expects, however, is a gift far greater than gold in this vivid and accessible tale originally created for television in 1951.

Included among the casts for the Friday/Sunday performances of Amahl & the Night Visitors are: Anya Giordano/Haley Tromblee as Amahl; Sarah Walton/Jessa Simon as Mother (with Georgi Feigley covering the role); John McCurdy as King Kaspar (Jorge Mendez covering); Xander Thomson as King Melchior; Arturo Perez as King Balthazar: Spencer Warfield as the Page (Max De Buys covering); and Abby Malina and Lily Slater as the Dancing Shepherds. Completing the ensemble as shepherds are: Max De Buys; Georgi Feigley; Grace Fuechtmann; Stephanie Gutierrez-Reyes; Madeline Hutchinson; Esther Jakobsson; Elliot Miller; Maddy Overstreet; Soryn Richter; Audrey Siblik; Maya Smith; and Miranda Tyda.

Meanwhile, some of the most legendary composers, characters, songs, and arias from international musicals and operas will be celebrated in Stolen Scenes, with the repertoire for the Thursday/Saturday performances boasting: "Three little maids/So please you sir we must regret" from The Mikado by W.S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan (Peep-Bo - Audrey Siblik, Pitti-Sing - Alice Sylvie, Yum Yum - Milan Nielsen, Poobah - Soryn Richter); "Ain’t it awful the heat" from Street Scene by Kurt Weil (Mrs. Fiorintino - Sara Heiser, Mrs. Olsen - Madeline Hutchenson, Mrs. Jones - Esther Jakobsson); "Melons! Coupons!" Carmen Card Trio from Carmen by Bizet Frasquita - Georgi Feigley, Mercédès - Audrey Siblik, Carmen - Jacqueline Isaacson); “La ci darem la mano” from Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Maddy Overstreet - Zerlina, Xander Thomson - Don Giovanni); "Brother come and dance with me" from Hansel & Gretel by Elgelbert Humperdinck (Gretel - Maddy Overstreet, Hansel - Natalie Platt); "Vieni, appaga il tuo consorte" from Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Gluck (Euridice - Miranda Tyda, Orpheo - Jacqueline Isaacson); "Viens Malika (or The Flower Duet" from Lakmé by Léo Delibes (Lakmé - Anya Giordano, Malika - Maya Smith); "Pur ti miro" from l'Incoronazione di Poppea by Claudio Monteverdi (Poppea - Miranda Tyda, Nerone - Grace Fuechtmann); "Oh goodness me" from Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss (Adele - Anya Giordano, Rosalina - Georgi Feigley, Eisenstein - Max Du Buys); and "Champagne's delicious bubbles" from Die Fledermaus by Strauss (Adele - Anya Giordano, Orlofsky - Ella Miller, Eisenstein - Max Du Buys).

Amahl & the Night Visitors and Stolen Scenes are both under the direction of Augustana's Visiting Assistant Professor of Music, Opera, and Voice Patrick McNally, who, in addition to teaching, is a full-time professional opera singer. He has performed in opera houses throughout the United States, as well as in Germany and Italy, and with the artist equally at home in recital, musical theatre, and oratorio, McNally has made a varied career in music, particularly championing world premieres. With Natalie Hansen serving as McNally's stage manager, the sets for both of OperX's presentations were designed by Mike Turczynski, with costume and makeup design by Becki Arnold and lighting design by (Reader theatre reviewer) Roger Pavey. Live piano accompaniment will also be featured for both productions, with Gail Baldwin the pianist for Amahl and Amanda Sherrill the pianist for Stolen Scenes.

With both presentations taking place in Augustana College's Brunner Theatre Center, OperX will perform Amahl & the Night Visitors on Friday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 23 at 1:30 p.m., while Stolen Scenes will be performed at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 20, and Saturday, April 22. Admission is $8-14 for both productions, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)794-7306 and visiting Augustana.edu/tickets.