Music: The Consul

By TERRY TEACHOUT Monday, May. 24, 1999

It's been a grand season for American opera. First the New York City Opera and the Met produced Carlisle Floyd's Of Mice and Men and Susannah, respectively, and now Menotti's The Consul--a tough, blunt cliff-hanger about political persecution--has finally made it to CD in a splendid live recording from last year's Spoleto Festival. The cast is solid; Richard Hickox's conducting, superb. Successfully premiered on Broadway in 1950 (yes, Broadway used to take such chances), The Consul is a little masterpiece of musical stagecraft whose grimly effective score and libretto haven't lost any of their punch--or relevance--in this ghastly age of ethnic cleansing.

--By Terry Teachout

Most Popular »

Full List »
  1. The '00s: Goodbye (at Last) to the Decade From Hell
  2. The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting
  3. Obama's 'Mistakes': Way Too Early to Judge
  4. One Year After the Mumbai Massacre, a Trial Plods On
  5. Ahmadinejad in Brazil: Why Lula Defies the U.S.
  6. In His Cave, a Palestinian Farmer Makes a Stand
  7. Me and Orson Welles: Zac Efron Takes the Stage
  8. California Judge Challenging Obama on Gay Rights
  9. The Fall of Greg Craig, Obama's Top Lawyer
  10. Zhu Zhu Mania: Hamster Toys Are Ruling Christmas
  1. The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting
  2. The '00s: Goodbye (at Last) to the Decade From Hell
  3. Five Things the U.S. Can Learn from China
  4. Obama's 'Mistakes': Way Too Early to Judge
  5. Will Private Equity Be the Next Meltdown?
  6. Zhu Zhu Mania: Hamster Toys Are Ruling Christmas
  7. Think Big with an African Ocean Safari
  8. The Dark Side of Darwin's Legacy
  9. Ahmadinejad in Brazil: Why Lula Defies the U.S.
  10. California Judge Challenging Obama on Gay Rights

Quotes of the Day »

Get & Share
"Honored to be at the White House for the state dinner in honor of India with President Obama and our First Lady!"
TAREQ AND MICHAELE SALAHI, a climbing socialite couple from Virginia, in a joint Facebook post, after having allegedly crashed the Obamas' first state dinner without an invite
More Quotes »
For use in rail of Articles page or Section Fronts pages. Duplicate and change name as necesssary to distinguish.

Time.com on Digg

POWERED BY digg

More on TIME.com »

Quotes of the Day »

Get & Share
"Honored to be at the White House for the state dinner in honor of India with President Obama and our First Lady!"
TAREQ AND MICHAELE SALAHI, a climbing socialite couple from Virginia, in a joint Facebook post, after having allegedly crashed the Obamas' first state dinner without an invite
More Quotes »

Today in Pictures »

Stay Connected with TIME.com

Learn More »