It seems astonishing that an opera so universally popular has been so badly served on record. Amahl and the Night Visitors was commissioned as the first television opera by NBC and premiered on Christmas Eve in 1951; the original cast recording under Thomas Schippers came out on RCA. Amahl became a regular feature on American TV at Christmas and BBC productions followed. The much-admired recording of the Royal Opera House production, under the composer’s supervision, is no longer available. This new recording now holds the field.

As a child, Menotti was obsessed by the story of the Three Kings. Much later he responded instantly to Bosch’s Adoration of the Magi and Amahl was the result. The touching immediacy of the story has made it a justified favourite for over half a century with a plot universally familiar.

The leading role is for a boy treble, with a range including top A. Ike Hawkersmith is attractive vocally and brings with him his experience in plays and films. Kirsten Gunlogson is the demanding and unreasonable mother, plausibly characterised. The Three Kings make an effective team but the magic of their gradual arrival, marked “heard from very far away”, is totally lost since they are far too loud. Later on some of the Page’s outburst when he discovers the mother trying to steal the gold is submerged. The choirs are capable but overall this CD left me looking back to the delicate subtlety of the BBC production shown on Christmas Eve in 2002 under the much lamented Richard Hickox. My Christmas (1987) for male voices and orchestra is in a similar vein but the tunes are not as catchy.