By Katherine Karlson and George Basler

Broome Arts Mirror concludes its week-by-week listing of holiday highlights with performances from this weekend (Dec. 16-18) and later this month:

Binghamton Downtown Singers

The Binghamton Downtown Singers and Orchestra are returning to their traditional holiday season presentation of a (nearly complete) Handel’s Messiah Saturday (Dec. 17) at Sarah Jane Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church, 308 Main St., Johnson City.
The Singers were founded in 1983 by the late Alan Crabb and the late Rev. Hugh Ward Miller and since have presented the full oratorio every year except 2020, due to the COVID interruption, and 2021, when the choir presented only the Christmas portion. The full oratorio covers not only Jesus’ birth but His passion and resurrection.
In celebration of its return to normalcy, the chorus, as it enters its 40th year, had invited additional guest soloists from the past. Under the direction of Artistic Director Marisa Crabb, the concert will feature sopranos Stacey Geyer and Martha Guth, mezzo-sopranos Dawn Pierce and Ivy Walz, tenor Vale Rideout and baritones George Cordes and Timothy LeFebvre.
The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.downtownsingers.org.
IF YOU GO: General admission tickets are $20 at tickets@downtownsingers.org. Tickets also will be available at the door. One student will be admitted free for each paid adult.

Tri-Cities Opera

Tri-Cities Opera will present Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors at 3 p.m. Sunday (Dec. 18) at the Opera Center, 315 Clinton St., Binghamton.

Based on Italian folk tales of the Nativity and Epiphany, the opera is a retelling of the story of the Magi from the point of view of a young disabled boy named Amahl. He sees a bright star in the sky one night and tells his mother, but she brushes him off, buried in concern over their poverty and bleak future. That night, three kings come across their hut, seeking shelter after a long journey following the star that Amahl had seen. They bring gifts for “the Child,” who has just been born and will reign over all.

When his mother makes a questionable decision, Amahl’s bravery and character shine through. We see that miracles are possible when we selflessly give our best gifts to others. A vivid and accessible family-friend tale, Amahl and the Night Visitors is a perfect first or hundredth opera!

IF YOU GO: Tickets at $40 premium and $25 regular are available at tickets@tricitiesopera.org or by calling 607-772-0400. The performances is one hour with no intermission.

Cider Mill Stage

The Cider Mill Stage, 2 Nanticoke Ave., Endicott, will present Plaid Tidings for two shows only: 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 29, and Friday, Dec. 30.

Brought back by popular demand, the Forever Plaid boys — Francis, Sparky, Jinx and Smudge — perform their signature “Plaid-erized” tunes with a Yuletide twist. At first, they aren’t sure why they’ve returned from the Great Beyond, but a phone call from the heavenly Rosemary Clooney lets them know that they’re needed to put a little harmony into a discordant world.

Sprinkled among the Christmas offerings are audience favorites such as their riotous three-minute-and-11-second version of The Ed Sullivan Show, which this time features The Rockettes, The Chipmunks and The Vienna Boys Choir, and a “Plaid Caribbean Christmas” that puts the “Day-O” in Excelsis!

IF YOU GO: Tickets are $27 at https://cidermillstage.thundertix.com.