Opera Vermont partners with the Downtown Brandon Alliance to bring Amahl & the Night Visitors to the Brandon Congregational Church in December 2025

Opera Vermont seeks generous donations to cover expenses for the production of Amahl & the Night Visitors to provide a ticket-free experience for all, regardless of financial ability, this Christmas.

Brandon, VT - The Downtown Brandon Alliance, in partnership with Opera Vermont, is thrilled to announce the return of Gian Carlo Menotti’s  Amahl & the Night Visitors, a cherished holiday tradition that has brought warmth, joy, and unity to our community each December. In Salisbury for years, this year (with your help) the beloved production will be at the Brandon Congregational Church with 2 performances on Saturday, December 6th!

This magical evening of music, lights, and celebration will be the centerpiece event for the DBA’s Brandon Holiday Market and will surely draw families from all over Rutland County and beyond to experience the spirit of the season in our vibrant downtown. More than just a performance of the family-friendly opera, Amahl & The Night Visitors  is a moment for us all to come together as a community, in hope, harmony, and the spirit of generosity.

 While it will be the same beloved performance as in years past, we will be introducing some new performers to the cast, beginning with Opera Vermont favorite, Kathleen Echols as Amahl's Mother. You will have seen Kathleen originate the role of Nancy Clutter in OVT's World-Premiere of "Truman and Nancy" or in a powerhouse performance as Nedda in OVT's performance of "Pagliacci" in February at the Highland Center for the Arts. 

 In addition, Baritone Liam Shannon, most recently seen as the Wizard of the mountains, in OVT's September production of "La Fata del Nord," will take on the role of the wise King Melchior.

 As the music director of this production, Brandon resident, Tim Guiles will lead our principals and ensemble from the piano for this production. This marks Tim's debut with Opera Vermont, and we so look forward to more! 

 If you or anyone you know would like to be a part of the chorus for Amahl & the Night Visitors this year, please reach out to Joshua Collier at collier@operavermont.com, or Tim Guiles at timothyguiles@gmail.com! We'd love to have you!

 As we prepare for this year’s performance, we are reaching out to all our community leaders, businesses, and Opera Vermont family like you to ask for your support in our endeavor to make this production, both performances, ticket-less to the public, so that anyone, regardless of means of ability, can come to the performance in Brandon, and experience the beauty and the magic of this production in this beautiful space. 

 Any donation that you are able to make to these efforts will help cover essential expenses including minimal performer fees, staging, lighting, sound equipment, and community outreach.

 Our ultimate objective is to provide, for the first time in the BARN OPERA/Opera Vermont history:  FREE and accessible tickets to all. Opera Vermont's motto is "all of opera, for all of Vermont," and with this step we attempt to make that not just a saying but a reality.

 We invite you and your loved ones to be part of something truly special, making memories that will last a lifetime with this beautiful music, and heart-warming, uplifting story. Every dollar raised goes directly toward making this event possible and free, with hopes that Amahl becomes a fixture in your family's Brandon-centric annual holiday celebrations.

 To make a donation please click THIS LINK, and be sure to notate that your donation is for AMAHL BRANDON 2025, or you can mail a check to our partners:

 

Downtown Brandon Alliance

PO Box 361, Brandon, VT 05733.

 

Together, we can make this year’s Amahl the most wonderful and magical one yet, and bring this beloved piece of art to Brandon, the home of BARN OPERA/OVT.

 

Thank you for your continued support of live opera, and for all the beautiful communities that make Vermont the best place in the country to live!

Joshua Collier Artistic Director, Opera Vermont collier@operavermont.com

After proclaiming a tradition in 2019, BARN OPERA is delighted to return once again with the same beloved production to the heart of Brandon, Vermont!

AMAHL AND THE NIGHT VISITORS was the first opera to be broadcast to a national television audience, which catapulted the work to national fame and recognition. The premiere was on December 24, 1951 and was broadcast by NBC. The story concerns a young handicapped boy and his mother, who live in a poor village that is on the route for the three kings to travel to meet the Christ-child after his birth. The kings arrive, weary from their journey, stop for the night, enjoying the hospitality of Amahl and his Mother. There is a great disparity in the wealth of the kings and Amahl's mother, and socio-economic conflict ensues, with a beautiful and altruistic resolution at the end. 

The heartfelt one-act opera is one of the opera’s most-produced by community organizations and churches throughout the country. Due to being originally written in English, containing wonderful characters and a situation that most of us can identify with on varying levels.

Principal Cast:

Pianist - Timothy Guiles

Amahl's Mother - Kathleen Echols

Amahl - Ambrose Cusick

King Balthsazar - Cailin Marcel Manson

King Melchior - Liam Shannon

King Kaspar - Joshua Collier

Page - Cameron Wescott

  • The original cast of amahl and the night visitors

  • Don’t you dare, ugly man, hurt my mother!

  • Thank you, my good kings.

  • If I take some, they’ll never miss it…

  • Amahl’s Mother

  • Amahl! Time to go to bed!

  • A good beggar i’ll be!

  • Oh little boy! In the third drawer i keep…

  • Moment of Silent reflection

  • Have you seen a child…?

  • O Blessed Child, May I touch You?