NORWAY — The Oxford Hills Music and Performing Arts Association will hold auditions for “Amahl and the Night Visitors” at 6:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 26 and 27, at First Congregational Church on East Main Street.

There will be an informal presentation on “Amahl and the Night Visitors” at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21, at the Norway Memorial Library.

The group will perform free concerts at four churches in the Oxford Hills Area from Dec. 8-11.

“Amahl and the Night Visitors” came to be when Gian Carlo Menotti was commissioned by NBC in 1951 to write a one-act opera for TV. The production was broadcast live as the debut production of the Hallmark Hall of Fame. It was the first opera specifically composed for television in America.

Initially, the composer struggled with a theme for the production but was inspired upon viewing “The Adoration of the Magi” by Hieronymous Bosch at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

The cast features the boy Amahl (youth soprano), his mother (soprano), Melchior (baritone), Kaspar (tenor), Balthazar (bass), and the Page (bass or alto). There is a large shepherds’ chorus, and directors encourage family groups to audition. The play also features an extended Middle-Eastern folk dance.

The play will be directed by Cynthia Reedy. A veteran of many of the group’s productions, Reedy was first involved with “Amahl” in the 1970s when she appeared as a dancer in the play. She has directed this play twice at Hebron Academy.

Well-known performer and vocal instructor Karen Chapman, who has performed excerpts from the play, is the music director.

OHMPAA Advisory Board members Terry Cole and Tom Littlefield are the producers.

Rehearsal commitment for all performers, except the role of the mother, require one evening per week during October and November.