Consul, The, is an opera in three acts by the Italian-born American composer Gian Carlo Menotti, written to his own libretto (text). See Menotti, Gian Carlo . The Consul was first performed on March 1, 1950, at the Shubert Theatre in Philadelphia.
The opera deals with political persecution. It is set in an unnamed central European police state after the end of World War II in 1945. It portrays the attempts of Magda Sorel (soprano) to obtain two visas from the consulate of a foreign country for herself and her husband, John (baritone). John is a revolutionary opposed to the present oppressive government and is being hunted by the secret police. Magda’s attempts to see the consul are thwarted by a wall of bureaucracy, symbolized by the consul’s secretary (mezzo-soprano) who gives her innumerable forms to fill in. In one powerful scene, Magda breaks down in the consul’s office. Eventually, John is arrested and Magda commits suicide. As she dies, she sees a vision of John and other people she met at the consulate, who invite her to come with them on a journey to Death, a land whose frontiers are never barred.
