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{{short description|Opera by Gian Carlo Menotti}}

factoids

The Consul is an opera in three acts with music and libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti, his first full-length opera.

Performance history

Its first performance was on March 1, 1950, at the Shubert Theatre in Philadelphia{{AllMusic|class=composition|id=mc0002394002|title=The Consul|author=John Palmer}} with Patricia Neway as the lead heroine Magda Sorel, Gloria Lane as the secretary of the consulate, Marie Powers as the mother, and Andrew McKinley as the magician Nika Magadoff. The opera opened two weeks later (March 15, 1950) at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York City where it enjoyed a run of nearly eight months (269 performances). It was initially conducted by Lehman Engel who was substituted by Thomas Schippers for nearly eight months until the last performance on November 4, 1950.BOOK, Gerald Martin Bordman, Gerald Bordman, Richard Norton, American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle, 634, Oxford University Press, 2010, 9780199729708, Neway (alternating with Yul Brynner's sister, Vera Brynner) also led the Broadway cast, this time with Rosemary Kuhlmann as the secretary of the consulate.Smith, Cecil, "The Consul. Musical Drama in Three Acts" (December 1950). Notes (2nd series), 8 (1): pp. 125–126.{{IBDB title|id=2137|title=The Consul}}Neway, Kuhlmann, and Powers also performed these roles in the UK at the Cambridge Theatre in February 1951, with Norman Kelley playing the role of the magician Nika."A.J." (no full name given), Review of The Consul (1951). The Musical Times, 92 (1298): p. 166.Benjamin, Arthur, "The Consul" (July 1951). Music & Letters, 32 (3): pp. 247–251. For the opera's La Scala debut in January 1951, Powers and McKinley reprised their roles, and Clara Petrella portrayed Magda.WEB,weblink La Scala Offers Menotti's Consul With 2 Members of Original Cast, The New York Times, January 23, 1951, Zechariah Chafee Jr. noted the topicality of the opera by analogy to the real-life situations of how non-American scientists were hindered from entering the United States in the early 1950s.Chafee, Zechariah Jr., "Book Reviews: American Visa Policy and Foreign Scientists" (March 1953). University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 101 (5): pp. 703–713.For The Consul, Menotti won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Music and also the 1950 New York Drama Critics' Circle award for Best Musical.BOOK, The Pulitzer Prize Winners for Music: Composer Biographies, Premiere Programs and Jury Reports, Heinz Dietrich Fischer, 32, Peter Lang (publisher), Peter Lang, 2010,

Roles{| class"wikitable"

Roles, voice types, premiere cast}}!Role!Voice type!Premiere cast, 1 March 1950{{Almanacco|dmy=01-03-1950|match=The Consul}}Conductor: Lehman Engelsoprano >| Patricia Newaymezzo-soprano >| Gloria Lanemother to John Sorel >contralto >| Marie Powershusband to Magda >baritone >| Cornell MacNeilBass (voice type)>bass Leon Lishnermagician >tenor >| Andrew McKinleybass-baritone >| George Jongejans| Maria Marlo| Maria Andreassi| Lydia Summers| Francis MonachinoChester Watson (bass‐baritone)>Chester Watson| Donald Blackey| Mabel Mercer

Synopsis

Act 1

Scene 1The political dissident John Sorel is on the run from the secret police. At his home, his wife Magda and his mother hide him. The police arrive and search, but cannot find him. John says that he will escape to the border, and tells Magda to go to the consul and apply for a visa to leave the country. He will wait to cross the border until his wife, mother and child are safe.Scene 2: The consul's officeMany people are waiting to obtain visas. Magda applies and joins the crowd, but the secretary cannot promise anything. Much specific paperwork is needed, and obtaining a visa is a long process. The same people wait at the consul's office day after day without approval of a visa.

Act 2

Scene 1The child is ill, and John's mother sings to comfort the child. The police try to extract information from Magda on her husband's compatriots, but she refuses. A message then arrives from John urging Magda to hurry with the visa.Scene 2: The consulateMagda is desperate to see the consul. A magician, waiting for a visa, attempts to impress the secretary by performing magic tricks and hypnotizing the rest of the room into believing they are at a ball, but he only ends up frightening her. Magda, after repeated visits, erupts in an anguished rant at the secretary, who says that she may see the consul once an "important visitor" has finished his business. This visitor proves to be the chief of police and Magda flees in terror.

Act 3

Scene 1Magda's child and mother-in-law have died. At the consul's office, Magda learns that John is planning to risk his life and return for her. A wealthy woman arrives and is immediately given a visa. Magda thinks of suicide to try to protect John, and leaves the consulate. As the office is about to shut down for the day, John suddenly arrives, but with the police in pursuit. The police capture John, and the secretary gets on the phone to try to contact Magda.Scene 2Despondent, and with visions of her past crowding her mind, Magda turns on the gas in the oven to kill herself. Her telephone then rings, the secretary trying in vain to contact her.

Recordings

• Newport Classic NPD 85645/2
• Chandos CHAN 9706: Susan Bullock, Louis Otey, Jacalyn Kreitzer, Charles Austin, Victoria Livengood, Herbert Eckhoff, Giovanna Manci, Robin Blitch Wiper, Malin Fritz, John Horton Murray, Graeme Broadbent; Spoleto Festival Orchestra; Richard Hickox, conductorJOURNAL,weblink Pines, Roger, The Consul. Gian Carlo Menotti, The Opera Quarterly, 16, 4, 696–699, 2000, 2007-09-28, 10.1093/oq/16.4.696,
• Naxos Historical 8.112023-24: Patricia Neway (Magda), Cornell MacNeil (John) and Marie Powers (Mother), conductor: Lehman Engel.WEB,weblink Menotti, G.: The Consul / Amelia al ballo, Naxos Historical, 25 October 2010, This recording was made a month after the premiere with the original cast and conductor.
• Video: Neway, Ludgin; Torkanowsky (conductor), Jean Dalrymple (producer), 1960 (VAI){{IMDb title|tt0862996|The Consul|(1960)}}

References

{{reflist}}

Further reading

• Warrack, John and Ewan West, The Oxford Dictionary of Opera, (1992) {{ISBN|0-19-869164-5}}

External links

• {{YouTube|ekrx98zKnk0|Video}}, Bullock, Otey, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, Richard Hickox, {{ill|Teatro Nuovo Gian Carlo Menotti|it}}, Spoleto (1998) – Chandos

{{Gian Carlo Menotti}}{{PulitzerPrize Music 1943–1950}}{{Authority control}}