musical OPERA America Members Portal
Login      

The Shepherds' Christmas
Composer:William Russo
Librettist:John Swan
Synopsis
The first scene opens with three shepherds on the moor, complaining about their miserable lives. Mak the thief then enters, puts a charm on the shepherds and steals a fat sheep. Mak comes back home with the sheep and his wife, Gill, hides it in a cradle, covered with blankets. Mak returns to the shepherds and lies down with them. The young third shepherd has dreamt that a man has stolen one of their sheep, while Mak pretends to have dreamt that his wife has just given birth to a baby. When the shepherds discover that their fat sheep has been stolen, they suspect Mak and go to his hut. Mak and Gill try to keep the shepherds from approaching the cradle, but one by one they come to pay their respects and thus discover the sheep, so they toss Mak in a blanket. Back on the moor, the shepherds fall asleep. An angel appears announcing the birth of their savior in Bethlem. They march off to worship the babe and, once in the manger, they offer their simple gifts to the child.

Title Information

All information is derived from OPERA America's Season Schedule of Performances and titles databases which date back to 1991. OPERA America is constantly updating this data. If you feel that a work or an artist has been omitted or that information is incorrect, please use the linked forms below.
Title Information Form
Artist Information Form

Approximate Runtime (hh:mm)
01:00

Number of Acts
1

Vocal & Musical Forces
3 sopranos, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, bass soli; fl, ob, cl (b cl); tpt, tbn; 1 perc-kybd; vn,va,vc,db

Original Cast
New York premiere: Peter Stewart as the Third Shepherd, Gary Giradina as the Villain, Sally Williams as the Villain's Wife



 
STORED ADMIN COOKIE *
actor id: 0
name:
company:
email
ind id: 0
memb level: 0
expiration date: 12:00:00 AM
current url: /Applications/NAWD/titles.aspx
Login As
* Visible only to OPERA America Administrators for testing purposes. Shows security cookie contents.
 
 
————
National Opera Center
330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001
212.796.8620   •   Info@operamerica.com
CONNECT WITH US
                 

PARTNERS
 
Terms of Service   •   Privacy Policy   •   Copyright Policy   © Copyright 1995–2024 OPERA America Inc.