The Consul
Encyclopedia
The Consul is an opera
in three acts with music and libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti
, his first full-length opera. Its first performance was on March 1, 1950, at the Shubert Theatre in Philadelphia 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 one month later in New York City
where it enjoyed a successful opening run. Neway also led the Broadway
cast, this time with Rosemary Kuhlmann
as the secretary of the consulate. 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. For the opera's La Scala
debut in January 1951, Powers and McKinley reprised their roles, and Clara Petrella
portrayed Magda.
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.
For The Consul, Menotti won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Music
and also the 1950 New York Drama Critics' Circle
award for Best Musical.
The 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 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 office
Many people are waiting to obtain visas. Magda applies and joins the crowd, but the secretary cannot promise anything.
The 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 consulate
Magda is desperate to see the consul. A magician, waiting for a visa, attempts to impress the secretary by performing magic trips and hypnotizing the rest of the room into believing they are at a ball, but he only ends up frightening her. The secretary says that she may see him once an "important visitor" has finished his business. This visitor proves to be the chief of police. Magda's fears increase.
Magda'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. 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 2
Despondent, 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.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in three acts with music and libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti was an Italian-American composer and librettist. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept his Italian citizenship. He wrote the classic Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, among about two dozen other operas intended to appeal to popular...
, his first full-length opera. Its first performance was on March 1, 1950, at the Shubert Theatre in Philadelphia with Patricia Neway
Patricia Neway
Patricia Neway is an American operatic soprano and musical theatre actress who had an active international career during the mid-1940s through the 1970s. She is particularly remembered for creating roles in the world premieres of several contemporary American operas, most notably Magda Sorel in...
as the lead heroine Magda Sorel, Gloria Lane as the secretary of the consulate, Marie Powers
Marie Powers
Marie Powers was an American contralto who was best known for her performance as Madame Flora in Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Medium, a role that she played on stage, screen and television....
as the mother, and Andrew McKinley
Andrew McKinley
Andrew McKinley was an American operatic tenor, violinist, arts administrator, music educator, and school administrator. Although he mainly performed in the United States, he had an active international singing career with major opera companies and symphony orchestras from the 1940s through the...
as the magician Nika Magadoff. The opera opened one month later in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where it enjoyed a successful opening run. Neway also led the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
cast, this time with Rosemary Kuhlmann
Rosemary Kuhlmann
Rosemary Kuhlmann is an American operatic mezzo-soprano and Broadway musical actress most known for originating the role of the Mother in Gian Carlo Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors, the first opera commissioned for television...
as the secretary of the consulate. Neway, Kuhlmann, and Powers also performed these roles in the UK at the Cambridge Theatre
Cambridge Theatre
The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929-30. It was designed by Wimperis, Simpson and Guthrie; interior partly by Serge Chermayeff, with interior bronze friezes by sculptor Anthony Gibbons...
in February 1951, with Norman Kelley
Norman Kelley
Norman Kelley is a freelance journalist, author, and former segment producer at WBAI 99.5 FM.Kelley has written for numerous publications, including LA Weekly, The Village Voice, Newsday, and Brooklyn Rail...
playing the role of the magician Nika. For the opera's La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
debut in January 1951, Powers and McKinley reprised their roles, and Clara Petrella
Clara Petrella
Clara Petrella was an Italian operatic soprano, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, an outstanding singing-actress nicknamed the "Duse of Singers"....
portrayed Magda.
Zechariah Chafee, Jr.
Zechariah Chafee
Zechariah Chafee, Jr. was an American judicial philosopher and civil libertarian. An advocate for free speech, he was described by Senator Joseph McCarthy as "dangerous" to the United States...
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.
For The Consul, Menotti won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Music
Pulitzer Prize for Music
The Pulitzer Prize for Music was first awarded in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer did not call for such a prize in his will, but had arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year...
and also the 1950 New York Drama Critics' Circle
New York Drama Critics' Circle
The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 24 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization was founded in 1935 at the Algonquin Hotel by a group that included Brooks Atkinson, Walter Winchell, and Robert Benchley...
award for Best Musical.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast 1 March 1950 (Conductor: Lehman Engel Lehman Engel Lehman Engel was an American composer and conductor of Broadway musicals, television and film.-Work in theatre, television and films:... ) |
|---|---|---|
| Magda Sorel | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
Patricia Neway Patricia Neway Patricia Neway is an American operatic soprano and musical theatre actress who had an active international career during the mid-1940s through the 1970s. She is particularly remembered for creating roles in the world premieres of several contemporary American operas, most notably Magda Sorel in... |
| Secretary of the consulate | mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above... |
Gloria Lane |
| Mother, mother to John Sorel | contralto Contralto Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above... |
Marie Powers Marie Powers Marie Powers was an American contralto who was best known for her performance as Madame Flora in Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Medium, a role that she played on stage, screen and television.... |
| John Sorel, husband to Magda | baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
Cornell MacNeil Cornell MacNeil Cornell MacNeil , was an American operatic baritone known for his exceptional voice and long career with the Metropolitan Opera, which spanned 642 performances in twenty-six roles. F... |
| Secret Police Agent, villain | bass Bass (voice type) A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C... |
Leon Lishner Leon Lishner Leon Lishner was an American operatic bass-baritone. He was particularly associated with the works of Gian Carlo Menotti, having created parts in the world premieres of four operas by that composer... |
| Nika Magadoff, magician | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
Andrew McKinley Andrew McKinley Andrew McKinley was an American operatic tenor, violinist, arts administrator, music educator, and school administrator. Although he mainly performed in the United States, he had an active international singing career with major opera companies and symphony orchestras from the 1940s through the... |
| Mr. Kofner | bass-baritone Bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the Dutchman in Der fliegende... |
George Jongeyans |
| Foreign Woman | soprano | Maria Marlo |
| Anna Gomez | soprano | Maria Andreassi |
| Vera Boronel | contralto | Lydia Summers |
| Assan | baritone | Francis Monachino |
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 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 office
Many people are waiting to obtain visas. Magda applies and joins the crowd, but the secretary cannot promise anything.
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 consulate
Magda is desperate to see the consul. A magician, waiting for a visa, attempts to impress the secretary by performing magic trips and hypnotizing the rest of the room into believing they are at a ball, but he only ends up frightening her. The secretary says that she may see him once an "important visitor" has finished his business. This visitor proves to be the chief of police. Magda's fears increase.
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. 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 2
Despondent, 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 BullockSusan BullockSusan Bullock is an English soprano.She was educated at Cheadle Hulme School, and further at Royal Holloway College, University of London, the Royal Academy of Music and the National Opera Studio....
, Louis Otey, Jacalyn Kreitzer, Charles Austin, Victoria Livengood, Herbert Eckhoff, Giovanna Manci, Robin Blitch Wiper, Malin Fritz, John Horton Murray, Graeme Broadbent; Spoleto FestivalFestival dei Due MondiThe Festival dei Due Mondi ' is an annual summer music and opera festival held each June to early July in Spoleto, Italy, since its founding by composer Gian Carlo Menotti in 1958...
Orchestra; Richard HickoxRichard HickoxRichard Sidney Hickox CBE was an English conductor of choral, orchestral and operatic music.-Early life:Hickox was born in Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire into a musical family...
, conductor - NaxosNaxos RecordsNaxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
Historical 8.112023-24: Patricia NewayPatricia NewayPatricia Neway is an American operatic soprano and musical theatre actress who had an active international career during the mid-1940s through the 1970s. She is particularly remembered for creating roles in the world premieres of several contemporary American operas, most notably Magda Sorel in...
(Magda), Cornell MacNeilCornell MacNeilCornell MacNeil , was an American operatic baritone known for his exceptional voice and long career with the Metropolitan Opera, which spanned 642 performances in twenty-six roles. F...
(John) and Marie PowersMarie PowersMarie Powers was an American contralto who was best known for her performance as Madame Flora in Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Medium, a role that she played on stage, screen and television....
(Mother), conductor: Lehman EngelLehman EngelLehman Engel was an American composer and conductor of Broadway musicals, television and film.-Work in theatre, television and films:...
. This recording was made a month after the premiere with the original cast and conductor. - Video: Neway, Ludgin; Torkanowsky, Dalrymple, 1960 (VAI)