Petite Opera Productions is boldly going where it has never gone before – Oak Park.
The Des Plaines-based opera company is set to perform the legendary Amahl and the Night Visitors, which was first broadcast on television in 1951, at First United Church of Oak Park, 848 Lake St. at 3 p.m. Sunday.
“We’ve been very impressed with the Oak Park community,” said Susan Baushke, executive director and artistic team leader for Petite Opera Productions. “The community has an innate artistic curiosity and is supportive of the arts. The community’s ability to embrace new ideas and appreciate cultural performances is an excellent fit with our mission.”
The holiday opera is based on the Biblical story about the Magi. Here, it features the Bethlehem star, the three kings, a widow, her disabled son, a shepherd … and a miracle. Baushke said the company’s goal is to bring a sense of magic to the production, and will feature sculpted, oversized King and camel heads. They capture the awe expressed by little Amahl, played by 9-year-old Ben Govertsen. His mom, Mary, plays the role of Amahl’s widowed mother in the production.
The oversized King and camel heads, which are made of wire and papier mache, was the brainchild of Miguel Lopez Lemus, the company’s set and scenic designer, and puppet sculptor, and represents the street puppets seen in his native Mexico.
“We wanted to keep it something unique, beyond the normal,” Lopez Lemus said via phone interview from Oaxaca, Mexico. “The three kings, they are larger than life, and as the performance goes along, the puppets come out.”
The production has several ties to the area. For example, Petite Opera Productions’ founder and board member Janene Bergen was an Oak Park resident when the company was founded in 2007.
River Forest resident Cathy Dunn, formerly of Oak Park, is Petite Opera Productions’ resident stage director. She said the company performed Amahl and the Night Visitors nine times in 2011, and five times this fall at its home theater in Park Ridge. Thus, the Oak Park performance is part of a revival.
“The show is one that people remember from their childhood, and I find when it’s advertised, people respond positively,” Dunn said. “It’s a show that people don’t forget.”
Like Lopez Lemus, the focus is creating something different, and applying that to a production that has resonated for over half a century. Hence, the puppetry, which shows the expressions of the kings, and camels.
“I’m so thrilled we’re bringing it to this area, because I can invite my friends,” Dunn said. “It’s closer for them to drive and for me to drive.”
Mary Govertsen said performances like this underscore the joy of watching her son grow on stage. Young master Ben did his first opera when he was six.
“He’s playing a character about the same age,” she said. “It’s delightful.”
As for Ben, like many 9-year-olds, he has passion for what he does and characterized his feelings about getting on stage as a mix between excited and nervous.
But here’s what you might not expect.
“I don’t like performing in front of a small group of people,” he said. “I like big audiences.”
Hmmm. Why is that?
“I can’t see anybody’s faces,” he said.
Baushke said that when it comes down to it, Amahl and the Night Visitors is really about the transformative power of giving.
“Just like every character in the opera, each and every one of us is touched and transformed by what we give, and what we give up. Our giving defines who we are and for what we stand.”
Tickets for Amahl and the Night Visitors can be purchased online at petiteopera.org/tickets
Group tickets can be purchased by calling 847-553-4442.