Guadalupe Center

All net proceeds from the Amahl performances will go to the Guadalupe Center in Canoga Park. This center serves low-income individuals and families in the San Fernando Valley by providing food and clothing, educational programs (e.g., after school tutoring and English as a Second Language classes) and a free Preschool Program for children between ages 3 and 5 to prepare them for school. During the holidays, the Center plays Santa to more than 300 families.

Cayman Coughlin as Amahl

Cayman Coughlin plays Amahl with Susie Penney as Mother in the Saturday cast. Cayman is a 5th Grader at St. Mel and enjoys pizza, math and P.E., not necessarily in that order. She sings and hops around in a crutch with nary a stumble. And no wonder. Her experience spans eight musical theater productions directed by Gloria Watts, among which were Cinderella, Oliver Twist, Seussical, The Sound of Music and Annie, where she played the lead. She has mastered the score for this opera and can even sing the shepherd's chorus!

Francesco's Notes - Part 1

We will be interviewing the St. Mel Music Ministry Director over the next few weeks. Visit this blog often for the continuing series we'll call "Francesco's Notes".

Q: Why did you decide to bring Amahl and the Night Visitors to St. Mel?
Francesco: The music started going through my head while I was sitting on a beach in Maui! It was about 2 years ago. About a month after I returned home, I heard on the radio that the composer, Gian Carlo Menotti, had died. Somehow I felt really compelled to do this opera. I mentioned it to several people and they told me that AMAHL AND THE NIGHT VISITORS had never been done here at St. Mel.
Q: What were your previous experiences with this opera?
Francesco: My first performance of AMAHL AND THE NIGHT VISITORS was while I was in school at Mount St. Mary’s College. I was a dancer and shepherd! Since then I have conducted, choreographed, and staged several productions of it, including one for an Opera Co. in Portland, OR.

Menotti Quote

“A man only becomes wise when he begins to calculate the approximate depth of his ignorance.”