Opera Guide—The Consul
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Opera by Gian Carlo Menotti
The Consul was composer and librettist Gian Carlo Menotti's first full-length opera, and it was a particularly successful one for him. It premiered on March 1, 1950 at the Schubert Theater in Philadelphia and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for musical compositions, a New York Drama Critics Circle citation for best musical play, and a Donaldson award for best musical play.
It ran on Broadway in 1951 and had several successful runs internationally.
Characters in The Consul
- John Sorel (Baritone)
- Magda Sorel, his wife (Soprano)
- His Mother (Contralto)
- Secret Police Agent (Bass)
- The Secretary (Mezzo-soprano)
- Voice on the Record (Soprano)
- Mr. Kofner, an applicant in the Consul's office (Bass-baritone)
- The Foreign Woman, an applicant (Soprano)
- Anna Gomez, an applicant (Soprano)
- Vera Boronel, an applicant (Contralto)
- Nika Magadoff, a magician (Tenor)
- Assan, a glass cutter (Baritone)
Synopsis of The Consul
The story takes place somewhere in Europe, after World War II.
Act I
Scene 1—Room in the Sorel Home
John returns from an underground meeting. The meeting was broken up by the police, and he was shot in the leg while trying to escape. Magda bandages his leg. The police are coming, but he escapes out the window just before they arrive.
The Secret Police Agent questions Magda as she sings to her baby. He eventually gives up and leaves. John resolves to escape, but tells Magda and his mother that he will send a message for them by breaking their window. When they receive the message, they must send for John's friend Assan.
Scene 2—Waiting Room at the Consulate
A group of people, including Magda, go through futile attempts to get visas out of the country, only to be told that they must fill in more forms or get a different size of photograph or wait several more months. Magda tries to see the Consul, but is not allowed.
Act II
Scene 1—A Room in the Sorel Home, One Month Later
Magda and John's mother talk about their chances of being allowed to leave the country. Magda leaves, and John's mother sings a lullaby to the baby. Magda returns and falls asleep, but wakes from a terrible dream: the Consul Secretary is John's sister, and there is a dead child.
A stone is thrown through the window, and Magda calls Assan. The Police Agent interrogates Magda again, offering to get her out of the country if she gives up John's underground connections; Magda threatens him.
Assan fixes the window and tells Magda that John is waiting for her in the mountains, unwilling to leave the country until he knows that she can get a visa. She advise Assan to tell John that she has a visa so he will get to safety.
Assan leaves, and Magda discovers that her baby is dead.
Scene 2—Waiting Room at the Consulate
Magda tries again to get a visa, but is is confronted with ridiculous forms. The Secretary takes pity on her and offers to let her see the Consul; but when she witnesses the Police Agent leaving from a meeting with the Consul, she faints.
Act III
Scene 1—Waiting Room at the Consulate
Magda waits again to see the Consul, although the office is about to close. Assan tells her that John knows that his child and mother have died and is coming back for his wife. Magda gives Assan a note for John.
The Secretary is alone and preparing to leave when John rushes in, looking for Magda. The Police Agent captures him, and the Secretary frantically phones Magda.
Scene 2—A Room in the Sorel Home
Magda hears the phone ringing, but doesn't answer it. She turns on the gas stove, inhales the gas, and hallucinates a ballet featuring the people at the Consulate. The phone rings again and she reaches for it, but falls over dead.
Other Operas by Gian Carlo Menotti
Sources:
- The Consul at US Opera
- Simon, Henry W. 100 Great Operas and Their Stories. Garden City: Dolphin, 1960.
Gian Carlo Menotti (1911 - 2007) in 1944
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