Resonance Works' 'Amahl' stars Victory Brinker in first full opera role

Dec. 14—Victory Brinker of Unity has been singing opera arias since she was 6. Now 10, the "America's Got Talent" veteran is taking on her first full opera role as the title character in "Amahl and the Night Visitors."

Brinker will sing the role on the first two nights of the Resonance Works production Friday and Saturday at the New Hazlett Theater in Pittsburgh's North Side.

She'll be performing Sunday in the Latshaw Pops Orchestra's Christmas show in Greensburg's Palace Theater. Evangeline Sereno, a middle-schooler from Aspinwall, was chosen by audition to portray Amahl for the final performance.

"She knocked it out of the park," said the company's conductor and producer, Maria Sensi Sellner.

This will be the sixth time for Resonance Works to stage "Amahl."

Sellner became familiar with Gian Carlo Menotti's one-act opera in 2014 while working with the Akron Symphony Orchestra.

"There were many productions of 'Amahl' in northeast Ohio that I became privy to," she said. "It was beloved to a lot of people there, and it didn't seem like anyone in this area was doing a professional production of it.

"So we took it on and made it our own tradition."

The opera tells the story of the biblical Three Kings, alternately known as the Wise Men or Magi, on their way to find the Christ child in Bethlehem, as they stop for shelter at the home of Amahl, a disabled shepherd boy who lives in poverty with his widowed mother.

Because of their generosity, and that of their neighbors, Amahl and his mother end up being blessed by their mysterious visitors.

"The reason we have made 'Amahl' a tradition is the wonderful sense of hope and optimism that comes from the story," Sellner said. "It's about generosity, community and inclusion."

Those timeless elements are translated in a modern setting, she said.

"Where would Amahl and his mother be today? They are homeless and setting up camp for the night in an abandoned park," Sellner said. "We don't change any of the words or text. We just want to help people think about who these people would be in our community today.

"Who would the shepherds be? Other people who are down on their luck and bring everything they have to give hospitality to these mysterious strangers who are looking for a place to rest," she said.

'A good Amahl'

Sellner said she was not familiar with Brinker's television appearances before casting her.

"We're connected with Desiree Soteres, her voice teacher, by a couple of degrees of separation," she said. "When we started talking about Amahl, one of our teammates said, 'Desiree has this really talented, fantastic student. We should look into her.' "

Brinker quickly inhabited the role.

"She's an immensely talented young person, and she learns music really fast," Sellner said. "She's really bringing a lot of her personality to the character, which is really what you need in a good Amahl."

Sereno was the understudy for Amahl in the company's 2019 production and also sang in the chorus.

"Three years later, she has really developed and matured as a singer and performer," Sellner said. "She has been a member of the Pittsburgh Youth Chorus for many years and had solo opportunities there."

Sereno's parents, Kate and John, are members of the Pittsburgh Opera chorus and will be singing in the 'Amahl' chorus.

Resonance Works is pairing "Amahl" with a presentation of "The Ballad of the Brown King" and the premiere of a new commissioned work titled "Rededication."

A 1954 cantata composed by Margaret Bonds, with text by poet Langston Hughes, "Brown King" tells the story of Balthazar, the African king who tradition says was one of the Magi.

Featured soloist will be soprano Anqwenique Kinsel, familiar to Pittsburgh-area audiences as a music educator and opera, classical, soul and jazz performer.

"Rededication," composed by Carnegie Mellon University faculty member Nancy Galbraith and librettist Sara Stock Mayo, was commissioned for Decameron Opera Coalition's "DOC the Halls," a streaming songbook of new holiday music inspired by the seasonal tradition of caroling.

Performance times are 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. The family friendly program runs about 90 minutes, including intermission.

Tickets are $28-$54, with discounts available to seniors and students. Children 10 and younger are free. For information and reservations, visit resonanceworks.org.

Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .