Everything Nac

The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and School of Music will present Gian Carlo Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors” at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, and at 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 16, in Cole Concert Hall in the Wright Music Building on the SFA campus.

“Amahl and the Night Visitors,” a 45-minute Christmas opera performed in English, has delighted audiences since its television premiere in 1951. The Three Kings, on their search for the Christ Child, stop for the night at the home of a widow and her young, disabled son.

“This touching – and often funny – tale will leave a lasting impression and is a perfect introduction to opera for children of all ages,” said Dr. Scott LaGraff, SFA associate professor of voice.

Noble Peck, son of Dr. and Mrs. Adam Peck, will sing the title role of Amahl. SFA Dance Program students Ashley Jensen and Montrell Releford are dancers, and Haley Hoss Jameson, associate professor of dance, will serve as choreographer.

Other cast members for the Thursday night performance include Julie Moore, Tyler senior, as the mother; Zachary Thomas Newman, Baytown graduate student, as Kaspar; Andrew Michael Sanchez, San Antonio senior, as Melchior; and Brenton Mattox, Dayton graduate student, as Balthazar. Friday performance cast members are Kelsey Quinn, San Antonio graduate student, as the mother; René Rodriguez, Houston senior, as Kaspar; Roland Rodriguez, Houston senior, as Melchior; and E.J. Grayson, Houston senior, as Balthazar. Jacob Rivas, The Colony junior, is Page for both performances.

The opera is part of the School of Music’s Cole Performing Arts Series.

Tickets for the Thursday night performance are $8 for adults and $6 for seniors, students and youth. Tickets for the Friday morning performance are $6 for individuals and $5 each for groups of 20 or more. For tickets or information, visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.

Looking for a unique Christmas gift for that someone special? Tickets are still available to a holiday performance of the internationally acclaimed professional Irish ensemble Danú at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus.

Danú will celebrate the festive season at SFA with Celtic music in “Féile Na Nollag” (A Christmas Gathering) as a highlight of the SFA College of Fine Arts’ 2016-17 University Series.

Danú’s performance will feature virtuoso players on fiddle, flutes, button accordion and percussion as well as the prize-winning voice of Nell Ní Chróinín, performing along with top-notch guest dancers from the Drake School of Irish Dance in Houston.

Winners of prestigious awards from the BBC and Irish Music Magazine, Danú has toured throughout much of the world with stops at major concert venues in the United States, the United Kingdom, India, Israel and across Europe.

This performance is sponsored in part by NMC Health Network (Nacogdoches Medical Center). Prior to the show, Dr. Rick Jones, professor of theatre and interim director of the SFA School of Theatre, will present an informative talk about Irish culture at 7 p.m. in Griffith Gallery. The gallery is across the hall from Turner Auditorium, which is located in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive. The audience is invited back to the gallery for a post-performance reception to meet the performers and to honor the event’s corporate sponsor.

Single event ticket prices are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and $10 for non-SFA students/youth. Tickets for SFA students are $3. For tickets or more information on the 2016-17 University Series, visit finearts.sfasu.edu, stop by the Box Office in Room 211 of the Griffith Fine Arts Building, or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.