Menotti: The Medium; The Telephone (2018)

An attractive feature of this budget-priced recording, based on performances at the Teatro Comunale Luciano Pavarotti in Modena, is that it pairs two short operas that were premiered together: The Telephone was written to fill out the evening at the premiere of The Medium in 1946, and it succeeds admirably in this regard, proving a bracing comic foil to the rather overwrought paranormal events of The Medium. That points to the principal strength of Menotti, who generally wrote his own texts; he had a direct dramatic sense ... Read More

An attractive feature of this budget-priced recording, based on performances at the Teatro Comunale Luciano Pavarotti in Modena, is that it pairs two short operas that were premiered together: The Telephone was written to fill out the evening at the premiere of The Medium in 1946, and it succeeds admirably in this regard, proving a bracing comic foil to the rather overwrought paranormal events of The Medium. That points to the principal strength of Menotti, who generally wrote his own texts; he had a direct dramatic sense that may have been influenced by his experience of Broadway musical theater. The Telephone stands on its own; although its little story of a wedding proposal interrupted by multiple phone calls is slight, it is perfectly calibrated to the music (not to mention more relevant than ever), and it unrolls without missing a beat. The libretto of The Medium allows for all kinds of stage vocal effects as well, and what's impressive is that the international group of young singers, from the... Read Less