Why don't opera companies stage "Amahl" at Christmastime?

[ErinPuff]

@twickster

[…] so you’d have to pay a fee to Menotti (or his estate? is he still alive?)

He died a couple years ago (age 95).

[Eonwe]

@Valgard

It’s too similar to Mozart’s Don Giovanni.

Everyone knows if you’ve Don Juan you’ve done Amahl.

Brilliant!
My girlfriend was just in a college production of Amahl tonight. And, I know of two churches that have done small, amateur stagings in Christmases past.

[choie]

I just remembered that Hansel und Gretel was always quite popular as an operatic traditional holiday production. Maybe it’s because, like Nutcracker, it’s aimed at children. Despite having a kid in the lead and an upbeat ending, Amahl is overall more somber a tale and a bit more challenging for young ears. I still think it’d make a great tradition but for selling mass amounts of tickets, kid-friendly is where it’s at.

OT: And Die Fledermaus is the standard New Year’s opera. Man, I remember WNEW / Channel 5 (now a Fox station) used to show it every year back in the '70s. Can you imagine a Fox station – hell, any regular broadcast channel – showing an opera in primetime these days?!

[rowrrbazzle]

@choie

A boy is optimal but not necessary. Our production used a young woman with a clear, pure, high soprano. Worked very well.

From the Wiki article:

From the Production Notes contained in the Piano-Vocal score: “It is the express wish of the composer that the role of Amahl should always be performed by a boy. Neither the musical nor the dramatic concept of the opera permits the substitution of a woman costumed as a child.”