This year's theme is “Holiday Favorites,” featuring “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” a one-act opera written in English by Gian Carlo Menotti. The second act of the concert will include a variety of traditional Christmas and Hanukkah music including “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers,” “A Jingle Bell Travelogue,” “Twas the Night Before Christmas” and “Let There Be Peace on Earth.”

“Amahl and the Night Visitors” was commissioned for television in 1951, and for many years it was shown annually at Christmas time on NBC television. “Amahl” is performed live in most major cities around Christmas and is a wonderful introduction to opera for many people, both young and old.

The story of the show centers around Amahl, a poor crippled shepherd boy living with his widowed mother. The night visitors are the Three Kings following the star to Bethlehem, where they heard of the birth of a King. It is a profoundly moving and yet sometimes humorous story that tells about hardship, unselfish love, the triumph of goodness and will leave an audience with both tears of sorrow and laughter.

The leading role of Amahl has been double-cast with Harrod Schlenker, a 6th-grader at Orange Avenue School in Cranford, and Paul Sadowski, a 5th-grader at Oakridge Heights School in Colonia. The role of the mother will be played by Deborah Eberts, a Westfield resident and member of the faculty of the New Jersey Workshop for the Arts. Eberts is well known in the New York metropolitan area as a vocal teacher and opera/oratorio soloist.

The Three Kings will be played by Manny Gonzalez of Scotch Plains, Nuno DeSousa of Linden and Khy Garner of Roselle. The Page will be played by Eddie Egan of Cranford. The Celebration Singers adult chorus will play the roles of the Shepherds' Chorus. The opera is directed by Tom Pedas, a music teacher with the Cranford public schools and the director of the Celebration Singers. Pedas is the founder of the Linden Summer Playhouse and has directed shows for the Scotch Plains Players, Mystic Vision Players and the Cranford Repertory Theater.

Tickets for the concert are $10 for adults and $5 for children and senior citizens. Tickets can be purchased in advance from any cast or chorus member or at the door the night of the concert. In its continuing goal of exposing young people to good music, the Celebration Singers will offer children 13 years old and younger free admission to the Saturday matinee if accompanied by a paid adult. For more information call (908) 241-8200.

The Celebration Singers is a non-profit community choral organization that recently celebrated its 60th anniversary. The 40 members come from several counties in central New Jersey. The Children's choir is a tuition-free choir, giving young people a chance to sing a variety of repertoires and to perform with an adult choir.

Who's Who in Cranford Celebrationn Singers’ “Amahl” Production:

• Jarrod Schlenker — Amahl Friday and Saturday matinee — is a 6th-grade student at Orange Avenue School in Cranford. He was a junior member of the Cranford Dramatic Club where he appeared in “The Wizard of Oz” and “Oliver!,” and was chosen for and was a featured soloist with the 1999 New Jersey All-State Elementary Honor Choir and sings with his church choir and the Celebration Singers Children's Choir. Jarrod also plays the piano and trombone and is the goal keeper for the New Jersey Knights soccer team.

• Paul Sadowski — Amahl Saturday evening performance — is in the 5th-grade at Oakridge Heights School in Colonia. Last year, he sang with the Metropolitan Opera Children's Chorus where he performed in “Wozzeck” and “Susannah,” with Renee Flemming and Samuel Ramey. Paul is a member of his school and church chorus and the Celebration Singers Children's Choir.

• Deborah Eberts— Amahl's mother — is a Westfield resident and member of the faculty of the New Jersey workshop for the arts. Eberts is well known in the New York metropolitan area as a vocal teacher and opera/oratorio soloist. She appeared in a Public Broadcasting System opera by Noel Tipton, recorded the revival of “West Side Story” under the direction of Leonard Bernstein, and frequently appears as a sololist with the Choral Arts Society of New Jersey. She was a finalist in the 1988 Carnegie Hall International Opera competition and in 1989 was a soloist in a performance of John Rutters Requiem with the composer himself conducting.