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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Mike Silverman

How Joyce DiDonato's childhood inspired her role in 'Amahl and the Night Visitors'

Joyce DiDonato Lear deBessonet Epstein Lincoln Center Theater Lincoln Center Donald Trump Kenny Leon NBC New York
Opera-Amahl At Lincoln Center - (Copyright ©2025 Julieta Cervantes)

It seems all but unthinkable today: A major TV network hires a famous composer to write an original opera and broadcasts it live in prime time on Christmas Eve.

But it was a different world in the early days of television back in 1951 when Gian Carlo Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors” premiered on NBC to an estimated audience of 5 million children and adults.

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