The Consul

Ithaca College Theatre will present The Consul by Gian Carlo Menotti in performances beginning February 15, 2005. Set in the Cold War, this dark opera follows the tragic life of a woman fighting to save her family in a country behind the iron curtain of Eastern Europe. The drama and score unfold a Pulitzer Prize-winning story of death and despair.

The musical drama takes place at the end of World War II in an Eastern European city that is under the control of a totalitarian regime. The plot concerns efforts of the Sorel family to obtain visas to leave the police state and move to a nearby democratic country. It quickly becomes apparent from their daily visits to the consulate that the bureaucratic red tape will make it impossible for the family to emigrate to a place where they can be safe and free.

Gian Carlo Menotti is one of America's premier operatic composers. He wrote The Consul after reading about a woman who committed suicide on Ellis Island because she was despondent over the amount of red tape required to enter the United States. The Consul debuted at the Schubert Theater in Philadelphia on March 1, 1950, and began its run at Broadway's Ethel Barrymore Theater later that month. The opera received the Pulitzer prize for music, as well as the New York Drama Critics' Circle award for the best musical play of the 1949-50 season.

The cast of The Consul includes vocal performance majors Steve Uliana '06 and Christopher Martin '05 double-cast in the role of John Sorel, Karla Faggard '05 and Kimberly Buczek '05 double-cast in the role of Magda, Jessica Gadani '06 as Mother, and Caitlin Mathes '05 as the secretary. The artistic design team includes faculty member Dan Meeker as set designer, faculty member Greg Robbins as costume designer and Brian Briggs '05 as lighting designer.

Guest director David Lefkowich resides in New York City where he is on the directing staff at the Metropolitan Opera and New York City Opera. Recently, he served as the assistant director to Julie Taymor for the Met's new production of The Magic Flute. He works as a director and fight combat director for different companies around the country, including New York City Opera, Florida Grand Opera, and Glimmerglass Opera. A graduate from Northwestern University's School of Speech with a degree in theater, he also has a certificate from Ecole-Jacques Lecoq in Paris, France.

Musical director Patrick Hanson is currently the music director of opera and musical theater at Ithaca College and the director of music studies for the Young American Artists Program at the Glimmerglass Opera. In addition to his degrees in piano performance, he was a fellow in opera coaching at the Juilliard Opera Center.

The Consul, the annual opera at Ithaca College, is an opportunity to see the collaboration of the Ithaca College School and Music and the Department of Theatre Arts in putting on a performance in a professional model.

Tickets will be available at the Ithaca College Theatre ticket office in Dillingham Center, the Clinton House Ticket Center, and Cornell University's Willard Straight Hall. Ticket prices range from $4.50 to $10.00. The Dillingham ticket office is open for single ticket sales Monday through Friday, noon to 5:00 p.m. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more by calling (607) 274-3796. For information, call (607) 274-3224 or visit www.ithaca.edu/theatre.

A nationally recognized professional theater training program, the Department of Theatre Arts attracts students from across the United States. Through Ithaca College Theatre and the production season, undergraduate students present all aspects of theater in a professional model. Ithaca College Theatre has been a cultural resource for Tompkins County and the region for more than 70 years.