Amahl and the Night Visitors is a family-friendly opera and has been enduringly popular since its premiere in 1951. Commissioned by NBC as the first opera written for television, the opera debuted on December 24, 1951, becoming the first network television Christmas special to become an annual tradition. Composer Gian Carlo Menotti drew inspiration for the opera from Hieronymus Bosch’s The Adoration of the Magi, which hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and from his childhood in Italy where gifts were brought at Christmas by the Three Kings instead of Santa Claus.

Amahl and the Night Visitors tells the story of Amahl, a shepherd boy who has a propensity to tell tall tales, and his mother. Amahl’s most recent story is about a star with a tail that moves across the sky like a chariot on fire. When three splendid strangers knock on the door and ask to rest in their tiny home, Amahl is thrilled and fascinated. When the visitors describe the miraculous child they are seeking, both Amahl and his mother are moved to give reverence to the child as well. Their humble faith conjures a miracle.

Ethan Monberg, 12, a Chestnut Hill, Pa. resident and rising 8^th grader at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, stars as Amahl. A member of and soloist with the Philadelphia Boys Choir, as well as a member of the Philadelphia Vocal Conservatory, Ethan is an avid singer, pianist, and composer. He performed in the children’s chorus this season for Opera Philadelphia’s Carmina Burana and La bohème.

Willingboro soprano Maren Montalbano also stars as Amahl’s mother. a Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano, she has appeared on over 30 commercial recordings and performs regularly with The Crossing, Trio Eos, and Opera Philadelphia. Philadelphia tenor Cory O’Niell Walker sings Kaspar, with Philadelphia bass Michael Miller as Melchior, Jenkintown bass John David Miles as Balthazar, and South Philly baritone Mark Hosseini as the Page. They are joined by 12 singers from the Opera Philadelphia Chorus and 18 musicians of the Opera Philadelphia Orchestra.

Opera Philadelphia’s Christmas in July is part of Camden County’s ambitious series of free summer concerts, with shows by local and national artists including Hanson, UB40, Sheila E, Pink Martini, Aimee Mann, and Ruben Studdard, at three different locations. For information, visit camdencounty.com/camdencountyrocks.com.