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Menotti's one-act comic opera The Telephone, or L'Amour à Trois was written as a curtain-raiser for The Medium, which was too short for most opera theaters. The Medium premiered in New York on May 8, 1946.
Gian Carlo Menotti was inspired to write and compose The Medium after attending a séance in the small town of St. Wolfgang (near Salzburg, Austria) in 1936. The composer wrote of how the powerful desire to communicate with lost loved ones inspired him:
The Medium from US OperaSimon, Henry W. 100 Great Operas and Their Stories. Garden City: Dolphin, 1960.
Several days later, Monica and Toby play together, and he dances for her. Monica goes to her room, and Madame Flora enters. She interrogates Toby, accusing him of touching her during the séance, and beats him when he denies it.
Synopsis of The Medium
Toby sneaks back in, looking for something in the prop trunk. He makes a noise and wakes Madame Flora, then hides behind the curtain where the "ghosts" are made to appear. Frightened, Madame Flora takes out a revolver and shoots at the curtain. Toby falls. Madame Flora is certain that she has killed the ghost.
When the Gobineaus and Mrs. Nolan arrive, Madame Flora confesses everything, showing them how Monica and Toby helped her fake the ghosts. Her clients, however, refuse to believe it, clinging to the notion that they can still communicate with their loved ones. Frustrated, Madame Flora chases her former clients and Toby away.
"It gradually became clear to me that my hosts, in their pathetic desire to believe, actually saw and heard their dead daughter Doodly (a name, incidentally, which I have retained in the opera). It was I, not they, who felt cheated."
The story's setting in time and nation is purposely vague due to the universal nature of its themes. All of the action takes place in Madame Flora's parlor.
Other Operas by Gian Carlo MenottiThe Consul (1950)Amahl and the Night Visitors (1951)
Madame Flora (Baba) [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], a medium (Contralto)Monica, her daughter (Soprano)Toby, her mute assistant (Silent)Mrs. Gobineau, a client (Soprano)Mr. Gobineau, her husband (Baritone)Mrs. Nolan, a client (Mezzo-soprano)
Sources:
Act II
Alone, Madame Flora hears the voices again, and tries to banish them by drinking whiskey and singing Monica's lullaby. She prays and then falls asleep.
Madame Flora scolds Monica and Toby for fooling around instead of setting the stage for the next séance, in which they provide the "ghosts." Monica soothes her mother's temper.
Mr. and Mrs. Gobineau [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], regular clients of Madame Flora, enter with Mrs. Nolan, a new visitor. Toby works the lights while Monica poses as Mrs. Nolan's daughter, Doodly. But when Mrs. Nolan asks questions that Monica cannot answer [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], the "ghost" disappears.
Characters in The Medium
Read on
Opera Guide―The Consul
Samuel Barber Biography
Bio of TV Actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr
Monica then imitates the Gobineaus' lost child. But the session is cut short when Madame Flora feels something touch her. She hurries her clients out, despite their protests that one shouldn't be afraid of the dead. Madame Flora accuses Toby of playing tricks on her, and Monica must reassure her again, this time with a lullaby ("Oh black swan, oh where is my lover gone?"). But Madame Flora still hears voices. When Toby reports that no one is downstairs, Madame Flora prays.
Act I