Bearing gifts, we traverse afar
Country Life UK|November 30, 2022
Festive entertainment—music, ballet, pantomime— is easy to find at this time of year, but the Christmas opera is a rarer beast, suggests Henrietta Bredin
Bearing gifts, we traverse afar

YOU wouldn’t need to search for long before finding a perfect Christmas ballet: The Nutcracker is an obvious choice, with its opening scene of children decorating a Christmas tree, running about and opening presents, followed by dancing tin soldiers, mice and snowflakes and the Sugar Plum Fairy ruling over the Kingdom of Sweets. A Christmas opera is not quite so easy to find, at least not a family-friendly one. Taking an excited group of children or grandchildren to Hindemith’s The Long Christmas Dinner could end in tears. Based on Thornton Wilder’s one-act play (in turn filched by Orson Welles for a scene in Citizen Kane), it traces the history of the Bayard family over 90 years, complete with births, deaths, alcoholism and depression.

An opera that was written specifically for children, and for television, is Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors. As children in Italy, Menotti and his younger brother would try to stay awake on Christmas Eve, awaiting the arrival of the Three Kings bearing presents. They each had their favourite: Gian Carlo liked King Melchior, whereas his brother preferred King Kaspar, who he insisted was kind, eccentric and very deaf. In the fullness of time, this interpretation was to make its way into the opera.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November 30, 2022-Ausgabe von Country Life UK.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November 30, 2022-Ausgabe von Country Life UK.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS COUNTRY LIFE UKAlle anzeigen
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
Country Life UK

Kitchen garden cook - Apples

'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'

time-read
2 Minuten  |
October 23, 2024
The original Mr Rochester
Country Life UK

The original Mr Rochester

Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre

time-read
5 Minuten  |
October 23, 2024
Get it write
Country Life UK

Get it write

Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution

time-read
6 Minuten  |
October 23, 2024
'Sloes hath ben my food'
Country Life UK

'Sloes hath ben my food'

A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright

time-read
3 Minuten  |
October 23, 2024
Souvenirs of greatness
Country Life UK

Souvenirs of greatness

FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
October 23, 2024
Plants for plants' sake
Country Life UK

Plants for plants' sake

The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson

time-read
7 Minuten  |
October 23, 2024
Capturing the castle
Country Life UK

Capturing the castle

Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker

time-read
6 Minuten  |
October 23, 2024
Nature's own cathedral
Country Life UK

Nature's own cathedral

Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods

time-read
5 Minuten  |
October 23, 2024
All that money could buy
Country Life UK

All that money could buy

A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages

time-read
8 Minuten  |
October 23, 2024
In with the old
Country Life UK

In with the old

Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery

time-read
5 Minuten  |
October 23, 2024