Premiered in 1951, Amahl and the Night Visitors was the first opera specifically composed for television, though Gian Carlo Menotti admitted that he had conceived it for the stage. The magical story tells of Amahl, a disabled boy who befriends the Three Kings when they stop at his house on their journey to see the newborn Jesus. Amahl decides to give his crutch to Jesus, at which point his leg is miraculously healed. Long a Christmas favourite, this new Viennese production, sung in German, boldly re-examines the story finding its key elements to be fantasy, empathy and the enduring power of love.

Bachtrack wrote of this production that ‘There was magic aplenty in director Stefan Herheim’s bold recontextualisation of the tale. Magically and skilfully done... Musically there is not a complaint to be had [and] the Wiener Symphoniker played beautifully’.

Conductor Magnus Loddgard has worked with Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, The Norwegian State Opera, The Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra and the Oslo Sinfonietta. Since 2008 he has been conductor of Ensemble neoN, a new music ensemble based in Oslo. They received a Norwegian Grammy (Spellemannprisen) for their 2013 album The Forester with Susanna & Ensemble neoN.

There is an English disc which can be heard on Naxos 8669019 played by the Nashville Symphony directed by Alastair Willis: ‘This Amahl is a real cracker, deserving of its place at the top of the tree’ (Musicweb International). ‘Alastair Willis shapes the music lovingly and with energy, and the Nashville Symphony plays with both skill and involvement’ (Fanfare).

Cast:
- Amahl: Tempu Ishijima (treble, soloist of the Vienna Boys Choir)
- Amahl’s Mother: Dshamilja Kaiser (mezzo-soprano)
- King Kaspar; Paul Schweinester (tenor)
- King Melchior: Nikolay Borchev (bass-baritone)
- King Balthazar: Wilhelm Schwinghammer (bass)

Stage director: Stefan Herheim

Sung in a German translation by Kurt Honolka

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo and DTS Surround 5.1
Language: German
Subtitles: German, English, Japanese, Korean
Region code: 0 (worldwide)