THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 17, 1995 TAG: 9512150241
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 09 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Theater Preview
SOURCE: Montague Gammon III
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
The Governor's School performances of ``Amahl and the Night Visitors'' easily could become a Christmas tradition.
This is the second year that the Vocal Music program has produced Gian Carlo Menotti's popular fable, which once was an annual mainstay of holiday television.
The strong, young voices that were displayed by the cast last year, and again this year in a production of the short opera ``Dido and Aeneas,'' should make this show a worthwhile addition to the regular round of seasonal events. The evening will begin, as it did last year, with a choral performance of hymns and carols before the staging of the familiar one-act work.
When Menotti wrote the piece for television production 44 years ago it was the first opera written especially for that medium.
A combination of sentiment and simple humor, along with the accessible, tuneful score, has maintained the work's popularity since 1951. The plot concerns a crippled beggar boy who, with his impoverished mother, provides one night's humble shelter for the three kings as they follow the Star of Bethlehem.
Alan Fischer, now in his second year as coordinator of the vocal program, initially decided to stage the work because it combined a ``great story'' with an opportunity for his students to sing roles that would display their talent yet ``make sure they didn't overtax'' their voices.
Last year, ``Amahl'' was performed in the Governor's School's small theater on Granby Street; this year it moves to the larger Chandler Recital Hall at Old Dominion University and tours for one show to Southampton County.
Fischer first came to the Governor's School as a visiting artist two years ago; his agent had booked him for a brief visit to fill a gap between singing engagements at operas in San Diego and Houston. Invited to return last year for the entire school year, Fischer is now a full-time faculty member of the school who goes out on ``two to three jobs a year'' with operas across the country. His wife continues to sing at the Metropolitan Opera, and they now maintain dual residency in Norfolk and New York.
Fischer comes to the program with preparation that began when he started singing in children's opera choruses at the age of 4; at 6 he was on stage at the Metropolitan. His seven years at the Met overlapped those of Peter Mark, who is now artistic director of the Virginia Opera.
Any conversation with Fischer turns repeatedly to the enthusiasm he has for his students and the pleasure he takes in their progress.
``I can't tell you how proud I am of these kids,'' he says, commenting how each year some who ``had never heard opera'' had devoted themselves to learning this new form of musical expression.
When there is a classical program on TV, he says, ``five or six students will phone me'' at home to discuss what they have just heard. It was ``the height of praise'' when one graduate began a long-distance conversation with the phrase ``this is your protege.''
Last year one student earned a full four-year scholarship to the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music.
``We have our first major crop of seniors this year.'' Fischer says, noting that they will be auditioning for places at colleges and conservatories that are ``the first rank'' of music schools.
``We treat them as young professionals,'' he says of their time under the tutelage of his three-member vocal music faculty. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
At a Glance
by CNB