Amahl and the Night Visitors is Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra’s annual holiday gift, a multi-media extravaganza of the Christmas classic originally written for television in 1951. Gian Carlo Menotti’s one-act opera of the crippled boy Amahl and his encounter with the three wise men on their way to Bethlehem is a celebration of music, magic and miracles. CCO’s production features vocal and instrumental artistry, along with the wizardry of Madcap Puppets and inventive choreography by Pones, Inc. Menotti barely finished the music in time for the premier broadcast on NBC, but the great conductor Arturo Toscanini proclaimed it Menotti’s best score — and he was right.
7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19; 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21; 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 22. $25 adult; $10 students/children. Gallagher Center Theater, Xavier University. 3800 Victory Parkway, Evanston, ccocincinnati.org.
