The Amahl 75th Anniversary Celebration Project

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The year 2026 marks the 75th Anniversary of Amahl and the Night Visitors, Gian Carlo Menotti’s famous 45-minute opera produced for television by NBC for broadcast on Christmas Eve 1951. Amahl was also the first production of the Hallmark Hall of Fame. Television performances of the work continued for decades, and the popular opera is performed throughout the world to this day. The libretto describes the three kings who are following the star to the Christ child in Bethlehem. They stop for an overnight stay at the house of Amahl, a crippled boy living with his poor mother. Amahl offers his crutch as a gift to be given to the child and is miraculously healed.

 

The first boy to play the role of Amahl was 12-year-old Chet R. Allen, born in Chillicothe, Ohio, and a member of the Columbus Boychoir School. The Amahl Project will include the publication of a biography of Mr. Allen, the promotion of the 75th anniversary of the opera, the encouragement of anniversary performances, and the establishment and celebration of a “Chet Allen Day.” Dr. Randall Wolfe of the University of Dayton, Chet Allen’s daughter Margaret Allen Hoyt, and the Schubert Chorale of northern Cincinnati will organize the project.

 

The first goal of the project is to promote the 75th Anniversary of Amahl and the Night Visitors, through articles for opera magazines and news publications, a biography of Chet Allen, a project website and a Facebook page, a YouTube page for Chet Allen recordings, and lectures by Margaret Allen Hoyt, Chet’s daughter.

 

The second goal is to encourage performances of the opera, including live productions by churches, community choirs, children's choirs, opera and theater companies, and universities; radio, streamed, and televised performances by national companies such as NBC, Hallmark, Sight and Sound, and PBS; a tour company of principals to perform throughout the Ohio region, with on-site church or community choirs serving as the shepherds' chorus; and benefit performances to support charities for the promotion of well-being for children.

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The third goal is to encourage government officials of Chillicothe and the state of Ohio to host a Chet Allen Day, to include a lecture by daughter Margaret Allen Hoyt and a performance of Amahl and the Night Visitors.