Balthasar, i.e. one of the three holy kings who, according to the Bible, were neither holy nor kings nor three, is said to have been a black man. That is what Christian tradition says. What has recently embarrassed the theater makers when they put the three on stage, because blackfacing doesn’t work at all. Major director Stefan Herheim, who has been in charge of the (music) theater an der Wien, which has been celebrated for years, knows this too. But great director remains great director, and that’s why Herheim doesn’t allow himself to be intimidated by the black-facing verdict, but rather inspired. His Balthasar is therefore a priest in a black habit, i.e. someone who brings help and is therefore just right in Gian Carlo Menotti’s family Christmas short opera “Amahl und die nächtlichen Visitors”, which Herheim has now staged for Vienna and his children (including their parents).
Gian Carlo Menotti’s family Christmas opera “Amahl” in Vienna – culture
