Amahl and the Night Visitors

Balthazar answers Amahl’s questions about his life as a Magi and asks about Amahl’s life. Amahl responds that he was once a shepherd, but his mother had to sell his sheep. Now, he and his mother will have to go begging. Amahl then talks with Kaspar, who shows Amahl his secret treasures (“Are You A Real King?”; “This is My Box”). The mother returns (“Amahl, I Told You Not To Be A Nuisance!”) and asks Amahl to go fetch the neighbours. Alone with the Magi, she asks them about the gifts they carry, and they tell her of the holy Child. (“All These Beautiful Things”; “Have You Seen a Child?”) Amahl returns with the neighbours as they bring gifts of food so that the Magi can be fed and entertained properly as guests. (“Shepherds! Shepherds!”; “Emily! Emily”; “Olives and Quinces”; “Dance of the Shepherds”).

After the neighbours have left and the Magi are resting, the mother agonizes, imagining how even a little bit of the Magi’s gold could offer a better life for her son (“All That Gold”). Almost against her will, she sneaks over to steal some. She is thwarted by the Magi’s page (“Thief! Thief!”). When Amahl wakes to find the page grabbing his mother, he attacks him (“Don’t You Dare!”). Seeing Amahl’s defense of his mother and understanding the motives for the attempted theft, Melchior says she may keep the gold as the Holy Child will not need earthly power or wealth to build his kingdom (“Oh, Woman, You Can Keep That Gold”). The mother says she has waited all her life for such a king and asks the Magi to take back the gold. She wishes to send a gift but has nothing to send. Amahl, too, has nothing to give the Child except his crutch (“Oh, No, Wait”). Emboldened by his recent outburst he offers his crutch to the Magi and walks without it. (“I Walk, Mother”). His mother, realizing that her son is stronger than she thought, lets him go with the Magi to offer his gift himself.