Just over 60 Manhattan blocks separate opposite poles in the opera world. At one end is the Metropolitan Opera. Its lavish productions feature the world’s most celebrated singers. Its opulent 3,800-seat home holds the place of honor in Lincoln Center. Its audiences are associated in the popular mind with elegance and sophistication.
At the other pole is the Amato Opera. Its intimate 128-seat opera house on the Bowery is billed as the world’s smallest. The cramped orchestra pit fits only a keyboardist and up to six wind instruments. The tight stage requires minimalist (yet inventive) sets. The cast includes no international stars. Instead, the singers are a mix of recent college graduates starting careers in music, experienced professionals who are far from household names, and trained singers who now pursue careers in other fields.
While the Amato Opera lacks star power and spectacle, it compensates with enthusiasm and charm. Call it chamber opera or opera on a budget, the relaxed atmosphere draws an interesting potpourri of seasoned opera fans (many of whom are also regulars at the Met or New York City Opera), casual fans, neophytes and children. The Amato takes a particular interest in exposing children to opera, and the intimacy of the space (the most remote seat is only 12 rows from the stage) helps to keep them attentive and engaged. PBS affiliate and filmmaker Stephen Ives took notice with a 2001 documentary entitled “Amato: A Love Affair with Opera.”
Anthony Amato and his late wife, Sally, founded the organization in 1948, primarily to train young singers, but also to make opera more accessible to the public. An energetic octogenarian, Tony remains artistic director and principal conductor. The season runs from September to June and includes six full-length productions, generally on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
A special offering for children is an “Opera-in-Brief” series, which presents 90-minute condensations of popular works. The cast performs highlights in full costume, and a narrator summarizes key elements of the story when omitted scenes or singing in a foreign language make this necessary. These shows are equally popular with adults, and often sell out well in advance.
The lineup of full-length operas includes some in the original language, usually Italian or French, and others in English translation. Frequently, foreign-language productions will have passages of spoken dialogue rendered into English. Amato does not offer real-time translation via subtitles or supertitles (surtitles). Nonetheless, Irene Frydel Kim, the organization’s business manager, observes that children generally have little problem with productions in unfamiliar languages, unlike most adults. She says that kids tend to enjoy the costumes, melodies, sets and action without the constant need to ask, “What’s happening now?” This appears consistent with my own observations of kids as young as 4 at Amato performances, including full-length operas. Children who enjoy opera have vivid imaginations, she says, and are content to weave their own storylines from what they see and hear.
Info:
Where: The Amato Opera, 319 Bowery, at 2nd Street
When:
• Opera-in-Brief series (which for upcoming season includes ‘The Magic Flute’ on October 2, and ‘HMS Pinafore’ on October 9, and into the fall and winter: ‘Hansel & Gretel’, ‘Amahl & The Night Visitors’, ‘Cinderella’, ‘The Mikado’, ‘La Boheme’, ‘Carmen’, and ‘The Elixir of Love’). All shows at 11.30am.
• Full-length operas (which include ‘The Magic Flute’ in English, in September and October; and into the fall and winter: ‘Un Ballo in Maschera’ in Italian, ‘La Boheme’ in Italian, ‘The Merry Widow’ in English, ‘Carmen’ in French, ‘The Elixir of Love’ in Italian and English). Fri., Sat. at 7:30pm. Sun. at 2:30pm.
How much: All tickets $15 for Opera-in-Brief series. For full-length operas: adults $30; kids, students, seniors $25.
For more info: (212) 228-8200; www.amato.org
