I do have a few more favorite Christmas songs to share with you (for those who are interested), but first I want to share something else with you. Amahl & the Night Visitors is an opera in one act by Gian Carlo Menotti, which was commissioned by and first performed on NBC in 1951. To this day, it continues to be performed live all over the world - typically by churches who have enough extremely talented members to actually do this. Nearly 30 years ago, my little brother had the unusual honor of playing the lead role for a 3-night performance that our home church produced - and it was truly an unforgettable experience for my entire family (and for our church family!). However, both the story and the music of this opera have grown far more meaningful to me over the years, and its now become something that I want to watch again every Christmas season (I even managed to find a copy of it on DVD.). I want to encourage you, my friends, to please make an effort to set aside one hour to watch this amazing production at some point during the Christmas season. The entire thing can be viewed on You Tube free of charge, and its well worth the time and effort to do so! This opera tells the story of a poor widow and her crippled son who are visited by three kings on their way to visit Jesus. In addition to considering the story of Christs birth in a unique way - from the perspective of wealthy kings and poor shepherds - it also gives an amazing picture of a mothers love for her son, and of the efforts that she puts forth trying to provide for him. If youve never seen this, you really should make a point to do so this Christmas season - and all you have to do is click the link below (as well as the other two or three links for the rest of the performance)! I will say, however, that while there are several versions of this available for viewing on YouTube, I believe this one is the clearest and best version - and I believe its actually the second televised version of the original production. The negative is that youll have to watch this in three or four brief fragments, and you may have to skip past some commercials at the start of each link, but that will hardly hinder the joy of watching the program itself and listening to this inspiring story! It can also be challenging to understand certain song lyrics, especially if (like me) you arent accustomed to listening to operas. However, if you have any trouble understanding something thats being said, please feel free to send me a note with your question about it....I pretty much have it all memorized. :) Anyway, I sure hope that you can find some time to watch this. I know that youll be richly blessed if you do! https://youtube/watch?v=qhOkc-vc1Ac
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 08:41:47 +0000
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