They came upon a midnight clear

Published 3:00 pm Wednesday, November 29, 2006

It’s hard to imagine a TV network commissioning an opera for a Christmas special, but that’s how “Amahl and the Night Visitors” came into being.

It was originally an NBC Christmas special first presented in 1951, and ran annually until 1966, when it was retired.

The touching Christmas story continues to be produced live, however, and this year Ovation! Musical Theatre Bainbridge is bringing it to Kitsap audiences.

Director Ron Milton said the group wanted to do a smaller show this holiday season, having just finished up a major production of “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.”

“We wanted to find something with the heart and soul of Christmas, but not commercial; just great music and a small cast,” he said. “This is a postcard, a Christmas flavor of things that are really important.”

“Amahl” is the story of a poor, disabled boy who lives with his mother near Bethlehem. On the night a star “as big as a window” appears in the sky, they are visited by three richly dressed kings. We know them as the Three Wise Men.

The poor mother struggles with issues of greed and need while hosting the kings, but in the end does the right thing. This is, after all, a Christmas story.

With a cast of just 26 performers, small by Ovation! standards, Milton said they were able to focus on the music by Gian Carlo Menotti, which he said was challenging.

Milton had high praise for the cast, which features Maddy Figueroa as Amahl, Sharon Acton as his mother, and Royce Napolitino, Tom Burt and Dale Spoor as the kings. Jon Doll plays their page.

“I’m absolutely thrilled with them,” Milton said. “The cast is very, very high quality. It absolutely fills your heart and soul and lets your imagination fly away.”

Soprano Acton is the assistant choir director at Eagle Harbor Congregational Church and frequently performs as a soloist.

“She has an extraordinary voice. It’s light and airy yet passionate,” Milton said. “It’s mesmerizing.”

Maddy Figueroa is a sixth-grade student at Sakai Intermediate School on Bainbridge Island. Milton called her “a real trooper” for taking on the demanding lead role.

“She has a beautiful voice. She has worked relentlessly,” he said. She only had one question for Milton: when was she going to get to play a girl?

She played young Winthrop Paroo in “The Music Man” and an enchanted pepper shaker in “Beauty and the Beast.”

She said of this part, “This is the role of a lifetime, and I am honored and privileged to play “Amahl” in this year’s Ovation! production.”

Corinna Lapid-Munter, Ovation! music director, said she was enjoying working with the men singing the three kings roles.

“The three kings are such an integral part of the story and of the music,” she said. “I was so excited to find three exceptional, experienced singers who love this music as much as I do and who bring such a rich, lush, elegant tone to this wonderful piece.”

Napolitino, who plays Kaspar, has played two lead roles with Ovation!, most recently as Gaston in “Beauty and the Beast” and in 2004 as The Pirate King in “The Pirates of Penzance.”

Burt played Amahl as a boy, and said it was a great privilege to be in this production playing the role he had always dreamed of, Melchior.

Spoor plays Balthazar, a role he first played on Bainbridge Island in 1973.

“I’m delighted to sing the part again after a 33-year hiatus,” he said.

Milton has made a few changes to the show, in order to prevent it from being what he called a “park and bark” type of opera.

The characters don’t just come out and sing, in other words. There is also humor, a good plot and visually stunning costumes and scenery.

The costumes were made by Ovation’s resident costumer, Barbara Klingberg, with assistance from Kathy Doll and a host of volunteer seamstresses.

“Amahl is a wonderful challenge as it’s such a balance of extremes — from the sumptuous richness of the Kings to the simplicity of the shepherds,” Klingberg said. She expressed her gratitude to Bainbridge merchants Churchmouse Yarns and Esther’s Fabrics for their donations of yarn and fabric.

With a solid, heartfelt story, beautiful singing and lush costumes, “Amahl” is a feast for the senses, and a very good bet for holiday entertainment. The one-act opera runs just under an hour and is suitable for all ages.

“Amahl and the Night Visitors” opens Dec. 1 and continues Dec. 2, 3, 8, 9 and 10 at Bainbridge High School LGI Theatre. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays.

Tickets are $18 adults, $15 seniors, students and military and $13 ages 12 and younger. Tickets are available at Winslow Drug on Bainbridge Island, Mill’s Music in Poulsbo, by phone at (206) 842-0472 and online at www.ovationmtb.com.