July 26: The Telephone by Gian Carlo Menotti

Opera buffa in one act by Gian Carlo Menotti to his own libretto; New York, Heckscher Theatre, 18 February 1947.

The action takes place in Lucy’s apartment somewhere in the USA in the present time. After a lively introduction Lucy (soprano) opens a package just given to her by Ben (baritone). He says he has something to ask her before his train leaves, but the telephone rings. She has a little refrain, repeated for each of the ensuing telephone conversations: ‘And how are you? And how is … ’ etc. Ben tries again to ask his question but is interrupted by a wrong number. Mention of time prompts Lucy to telephone for the speaking clock: ‘four-fifteen and three-and-a-half seconds’. Another call – this time a boyfriend with whom she has an argument. Lucy, upset, leaves to get a handkerchief. Ben, enraged, is about to cut the telephone cord when it rings again loudly. Lucy returns just in time to save it from destruction. She must call her friend Pamela. A duet follows with Lucy on the telephone and Ben cursing the machine to himself. He exits and a small side stage reveals a telephone booth. Ben calls Lucy and proposes; she accepts. But he must promise one thing: never to forget her telephone number, which she then dictates to him.

This 22-minute ‘skit with music’, as it has been called, was written as a lightweight curtain-raiser for performances of The Medium, a dark and tragic contrast. The latter had received its première the year before and was revised for the 1947 performances at the Heckscher Theatre (18 to 20 February). The directors Chandler Cowles and Efrem Zimbalist jr were impressed and moved the production to the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway where on 1 May 1947 it began an unprecedented run of 211 performances. In 1951 the two works toured Europe, sponsored by the State Department. The Telephone has cheerful, witty and bright tonal music. The scoring is light. Lucy’s part is frequently coloratura in style, at one point with a trill on a″, followed by a slide up to d‴.

Bruce Archibald. "Telephone, The." The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Ed. Stanley Sadie. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. 9 Sep. 2008