Search - Gian Carlo Menotti, Lawrence Rapchak, Ensemble of Chicago Opera Theater :: Gian Carlo Menotti: The Medium

Why am I afraid of this nothingness?

Jethro Manjay | Carlisle, PA United States | 07/23/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of the best American operas of the 20th Century, and definitely Menotti's best. The Medium is unpretentious and direct, a sordid and borderline campy story of a fake medium who is disturbed by a presence during a seance and loses her mind.



The Medium works particularly well on audio only, which allows the listener to imagine the important character of the mute boy Toby (who can appear awkwardly "knowing" on stage when played by a dancer).



Madame Flora is a tour de force role. Joyce Castle is superb in it, with the authority of a performer with a long career behind her. Castle judges very well how far an effect can go, so that she never descends into sheer ridiculousness.



As Monica, Patrice Michaels is delightful, with a pleasant, silky (as opposed to chirpy) voice. The minor roles are well taken by singers with excellent enunciation. The orchestra is good, especially considering Menotti's spare, almost threadbare orchestration.



If you like radio plays, crazy old women with shawls, and clammy seances, this is for you."

A Medium for the 21st century

L. Solomon | 03/05/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Those of us familiar with Menotti's timeless opera, The Medium, are probably best acquainted with the legendary Maria Powers recording featuring the charming "The Telephone" as part of the album offering. If you are like me, your LP copy, while beautifully packaged, has been worn to the nub through countless playings on less than modern "record players". This being said, the music world has longed for a worthy successor to the Columbia two LP set from the 1950's. Oddly enough, this has not gone very well until recently. In the late 1960's a stereo LP version was released with less than satisfactory results. My copy was plauged with excessive surface noise and sketchy performances. While it was delightful to hear voices moving around the stereo soundstage (much the convention of "Broadway Stereo Cast albumsof the era) but the recording was otherwise mediocre. The cast could not compare with the original and it didn't take many hearing to conclude that in this case old and scratchy worked better that new and mediocre.



This new recording being reviewed is in every way a sonic blockbuster. I first heard this CD on my Mcintosh C39 Dolby Pro Logic system. The recording blew me away! Technical proficiency aside, the performances are nothing short of stunning. All the drama, surreal darkness and young love come through as dynamically as a live performance. One small gripe is this versions Monica. She sounds too mature to portray the 15-year old Monica. Happily, this first hearing jolt is soon forgotten and we come to fully accept the cast of superb performers. While not the Maria Powers recording that we know and love, this is a production that in its own way is as excellent as the original. The CD recording is big, spacious and otherwise a joy to hear. Buy this recording of The Medium. You will not be disappointed."