If you want a plot summary, go to my comment on the 1978 remake. I cannot understand why neither version of this teleplay opera has been summarized or commented on (I am not familiar with the one in the middle starring John Cullom).
This Christmas opera was written for this tv production and for years was a holiday favorite. There is a story that they had to lock Giancarlo Menotti in a room to get him to finish it on time, and another story that he withheld broadcast rights after the original contract had run out. He apparently didn't like his own work very much and wanted to devote himself to the avant-garde garbage that constitutes his later operas.
It's in black and white, it's very old, but it is superior to the 1978 taping. The Amahl is simply superb (I heard him many years later and he had developed into a marvelous baritone). It may be impossible to find, but if you happen to run across it, especially in the holiday season, treat yourself and both treat and educate your children.
This Christmas opera was written for this tv production and for years was a holiday favorite. There is a story that they had to lock Giancarlo Menotti in a room to get him to finish it on time, and another story that he withheld broadcast rights after the original contract had run out. He apparently didn't like his own work very much and wanted to devote himself to the avant-garde garbage that constitutes his later operas.
It's in black and white, it's very old, but it is superior to the 1978 taping. The Amahl is simply superb (I heard him many years later and he had developed into a marvelous baritone). It may be impossible to find, but if you happen to run across it, especially in the holiday season, treat yourself and both treat and educate your children.