ORLANDO, Fla. — Gabriel Preisser had an idea, the kind of idea about which cartoon characters would say, “That’s so crazy it just might work.” What if a beloved and sacred musical tradition for many could be expanded upon — with a comic story about four men who play Santa Claus at the mall?

“It all made sense in my head,” Preisser says with a laugh. Music and theater lovers can see what they think after “Four Lost Santas” has its world premiere Dec. 6 at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando.

The sacred tradition that inspired Preisser is “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” a one-act opera by Gian Carlo Menotti that premiered on television in 1951. It’s a heartwarming story set more than two millennia ago, about a boy and his mother who open their home to a group of weary traveling strangers, unaware they are the Three Kings on their way to meet the Christ child.

“It is a beloved classic,” says Preisser, the general director of Opera Orlando. “It’s kind of like ‘The Nutcracker’ for opera companies. “But it’s not ‘The Nutcracker’ in that it is on the shorter side and it doesn’t appeal to everyone.”

Preisser started kicking around ideas in his head about how to expand the 50-minute opera into a full evening’s entertainment while expanding the audience to include more secular observers of Christmas. He thought about the voices in “Amahl”: four men, singing the parts of the Three Kings, or Wise Men, and their attendant. He realized the four voice types matched those used in barbershop-quartet harmony.

“And that’s where this crazy idea started to go down a rabbit hole,” he says. “I mean a barbershop quartet of Santas… who wouldn’t love that?”

He had a rough idea of a contemporary mother and son, late for a community-theater production of “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” coming to the aid of four stranded mall Santas. Their high jinks would flow into an actual performance of “Amahl.” When he pitched it to composer Spicer Carr and librettist Rose Freeman, they were onboard.

They fleshed out Preisser’s “half-baked idea,” as he puts it, and Carr wrote a score for the “Four Lost Santas” segment of the evening that incorporates familiar holiday melodies. They also added some of the heart from “Amahl” to the “Santas” story.

Young Rudy, the boy who wants to help the stranded Santas, is looking for a Christmas miracle.

“It has some sentimentality,” Preisser says of “Four Lost Santas.” “It’s not all slapstick.”

After the “Amahl and the Night Visitors” presentation, an epilogue concludes Rudy’s modern-day story. That’s followed by a family sing-along for the audience of familiar Christmas carols and holiday songs. The entire production runs about 80 minutes.

“Gabriel Preisser’s concept is a cheekily brilliant addition to Menotti’s ‘Amahl and the Night Visitors,” says Freeman, who also is directing Opera Orlando’s production. “‘Four Lost Santas’ is meant to echo the tale of ‘Amahl,’ highlighting how the stories we tell are often mirrored in our daily lives.”

“Four Lost Santas” already has gotten attention in the opera world; in fact, the Light Opera Theatre of Sacramento in California has licensed it and will offer the second production in the days leading up to Christmas.

In Orlando, the opera company is making it more than a show. Children’s coloring activities will be featured in the lobby before showtime, carolers will sing and Santa Claus himself will visit. Preisser recommends arriving at least a half hour before showtime.

For those interested in how new works develop, a talk on the creation of “Four Lost Santas” will take place 50 minutes before each performance.

Preisser hopes the message shared by “Four Lost Santas” and “Amahl and the Night Visitors” will be embraced by audiences.

“The whole idea is, how can we be a Christmas miracle for other people?” he says. “How can a good deed lead to other good things?”

‘Four Lost Santas’ / ’Amahl & the Night Visitors’

When: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 7; 2 p.m. Dec. 8; a talk about the creation of “Four Lost Santas” begins 50 minutes before showtime. Children’s activities and caroling take place in the theater lobby before each performance.

Where: Pugh Theater at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia Ave. in Orlando

Tickets: $49 and up

Info: drphillipscenter.org

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