Marta Becket at the Amargosa Opera House in Death Valley Junction, Calif., in 2001 (Denise Truscello / Associated Press) By Steve Marble . Feb. 1, 2017 1:25 PM PT . Share via Close extra sharing ...

Marta Becket, shown in this undated photo on stage at the Amargosa Opera House, refurbished the theater and danced on the stage for more than 40 years.

Personifying the “opera” in Bitter Water Opera, Marta Becket was a real person, if a strange one: a ballet dancer who appeared on Broadway and left New York with a traveling one-woman show.

“Amahl and Night Visitors,” an enduring Christmas story that is performed each year by various opera companies across America, will be presented on three area stages this holiday season by ...