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Home , Psychic, The Consul, The Medium

Cedille Records CDR 90000 034 Gian Carlo The Menotti Medium

JOYCE CASTLE PATRICE MICHAELS BEDI CHICAGO THEATER LAWRENCE RAPCHAK, CONDUCTOR Act I (29:56) Time Page 1 Introduction (1:38) 10 2 “Where, oh, where” Monica (1:56) 10 3 “Be careful, Baba’s coming!” Monica (1:13) 10 4 “Where have you been all night?” Monica (0:48) 11 5 “Get ready! Hurry!” Baba (0:38) 11 6 “Good evening, Madame Flora” Mrs. Gobineau (0:33) 11 7 “Is this the first time” Mrs. Gobineau (1:38) 12 8 “It happened long ago” Mrs. Gobineau (2:07) 12 9 “It’s time to begin” Baba (0:55) 13 10 “You must be very silent” Mr. Gobineau (1:12) 13 11 “Mother, mother, are you there?” Monica (1:13) 13 12 “Doodly, Doodly, are you happy?” Mrs. Nolan (0:48) 14 13 “Mummy, Mummy dear” Monica (2:32) 14 14 “Mother, mother, are you there?” Monica (0:48) 15 15 “Send my son to me...” Mr. Gobineau (1:14) 15 16 “What is it? Who is it?” Baba (1:16) 16 17 “But why be afraid?” Mr. Gobineau (0:36) 16 18 “Baba, what has happened?” Monica (1:22) 16 19 “Where is Toby?” Baba (1:32) 17 20 “The sun has fallen” Monica (2:08) 18 21 “The spools unravel” Monica (1:56) 18 22 “Oh God! What is happening to me?” Baba (1:46) 19  Act II (31:56) Time Page 23 Introduction (2:12) 19 24 “Bravo!” (Monica’s waltz) Monica (1:25) 19 25 “What is the matter Toby?” Monica (3:57) 20 26 Baba’s entrance (1:47) 20 27 “Toby, you know that I love you” Baba (1:40) 21 28 “But first you must tell me” Baba (1:47) 21 29 “Perhaps it was not you after all” Baba (1:54) 21 30 “Good evening, Madame Flora” (2:05) 22 Mrs. Gobineau and Mrs. Nolan 31 “Not to know my daughter’s own voice?” (1:00) 23 Mrs. Nolan 32 “Please let us have our séance, Madame Flora” (0:57) 23 The Gobineaus and Mrs. Nolan 33 “And you, you too get out” Baba (1:22) 24 34 Toby’s exit (0:56) 25 35 “Mother, mother, are you there?” Girl’s Voice (1:03) 25 36 “Afraid, am I afraid?” Baba (2:35) 25 37 “The dead never come back” Baba (1:54) 25 38 “O God, forgive my sins” Baba (2:40) 25 39 “Who’s there?” Baba (0:54) 26 40 “I’ve killed the !” Baba (1:40) 26 TT: (62:05)  ’s Notes by Andrea Lamoreaux Despite its eerie setting and gruesome conclu- The particular language of seances, in sion, THE MEDIUM is actually a play of ideas. which people try to communicate with It describes the tragedy of a woman caught the dead through the aid of a medium or between two worlds, a world of reality which intermediary, gives special meaning to the she cannot wholly comprehend, and a super- word “control”: a medium is more psychi- natural world in which she cannot believe. cally articulate than others, allegedly able — Gian Carlo Menotti to bring forward the spirits of dead loved ones. Madame Flora’s seances do not liter- In the 1990 movie GHOST, the main char- ally posit this kind of controlling , but acter is killed in a mugging. Dead at the for her, control is still everything. She has feet of his girlfriend, he enters into exis- two accomplices in her profession of decep- tence as a ghost: able to move about the tion: her daughter, Monica, whose job is to streets, and to see and touch his beloved fake ghostly apparitions and voices, and fiancée. She, however, cannot see him, or Toby, a mute boy who stages respond to his caresses, or hear his voice. effects for atmosphere. She believes she Desperate to communicate, he visits a psy- has the two young people totally under her chic, a woman who claims she can contact thumb, that they will do anything she tells the spirits of the dead. Upon meeting a true them, being merely living stage props for ghost, she nearly has a nervous breakdown; the con. instead of manipulating living clients into seeing that aren’t there, she now And she has control not only over her finds herself persuaded to convey urgent crew, but also over her clients — who are messages from a real ghost who is manipu- so grief-stricken over the loss of people lating her. The psychic’s successful trans- they love, that they will believe anything. formation from con to conduit is, arguably, They both want and need to believe in the most absorbing and memorable aspect Madame Flora. of the film. Then, in the midst of a routine evening, But for Madame Flora, the fake psychic just another seance — looking forward, who headlines Menotti’s opera, an encoun- perhaps, to laughing at the fools once they ter with a perceived supernatural force pay their money and depart — Madame leads to disaster. Her fear of the unknown Flora feels the touch of a cold hand on her and helplessness upon experiencing some- throat. She is terrified. Her clients are with- thing she has not planned and cannot in sight, motionless, mesmerized; Monica understand, causes her whole world to spin is off in a corner, imitating a ghost; Toby out of control. is behind a curtain. Yet someone or some- thing has touched her. She is no longer in 4 control, and she is transformed from a pur- except Toby’s dead body, with a mouth that veyor of the inexplicable into a relentless spoke no words this side of the grave, and seeker after an explanation. will never speak from beyond it either. Menotti himself analyzed the disintegra- Menotti wrote both the words and the tion of Baba, as her daughter calls her, in music for The Medium. Here he describes these words: its genesis: “[She] has no scruples in cheating “Although the opera was not composed her clients...until something happens until 1945, the idea... first occurred which she herself has not prepared. to me in 1936 in the little Austrian This insignificant incident, which she town of St. Wolfgang near Salzburg. is not able to explain, shatters her I had been invited by my neighbors self-assurance and drives her almost to attend a seance in their house. I insane with fear. From this moment readily accepted their invitation but, on, she rages impotently against her I must confess, with my tongue in my still credulous clients, who are serene cheek. However, as the seance unfold- in their naive and unshakable faith, ed, I began to be somewhat troubled. and against Toby...who seems to hide Although I was unaware of anything within his silence the answer to her unusual, it gradually became clear to unanswerable question....Monica, in me that my hosts, in their pathetic the simplicity of her love both for desire to believe, actually saw and Toby and Baba, tries to mediate heard their dead daughter, Doodly (a between them. But Baba, in her anxi- name which I retained in the opera). ety and insecurity, is finally driven It was I, not they, who felt cheated. to kill Toby, ‘the ghost,’ the symbol of The creative power of their faith and her metaphysical anguish, who will conviction made me examine my own always haunt her with the riddle of cynicism and led me to wonder at the his immutable silence.” multiple texture of reality.” (Emphasis Toby, of course, can neither deny nor con- added) fess any mischievous interference with Baba, unlike Menotti, cannot confront her the events of the staged seance. He can- cynicism, and is incapable of contemplat- not speak in his own defense. Monica is ing the “multiple texture of reality”. She helpless to defend him or to comfort Baba, reacts to the phantom touch with panicky whose fear she does not understand, and fear, which bewilders her three clients: Mr. Baba is helpless to overcome her terror and and Mrs. Gobineau, who attend the seances guilt. Obsessed with regaining control over to hear the happy laughter of their son her increasingly chaotic world, she destroys Mickey, who drowned accidentally at the all by a murder that gives no answer at all age of two, and Mrs. Nolan, a newcomer 5 who wants to contact her daughter. a floating spirit. After the clients have been sent away, Baba To aid the imagination and to enhance the panics again, with a sudden, almost comic of true music theatre, this recording attack of conscience: “we must give their of The Medium has added sound effects to money back.” She derives some comfort highlight some of its important events. Pro- from Monica, who sings a sad ballad called ducer James Ginsburg says: “I conceived “The Black Swan”; its slow rhythms and this recording as a kind of radio play, a mournful tune, its focus on death, seem performance in which our ears are the sole somehow to calm her, and the song ends receptors of impressions that in an actu- as a duet. al theatre would come through both ears But the calm does not last long, for while and eyes. Sound effects are used in radio Monica is still singing, Baba seems to plays, and they have been similarly used hear ghostly laughter and the voice of a in this production of The Medium. After the young girl. In terror, the medium turns music was recorded, effects were added, to to prayer — perhaps for the first time in emphasize events, gestures, and emotions, a long while — yet over her voice reciting and to help create an atmosphere of dra- the “Ave Maria” we still hear, as she does, matic immediacy.” the faint laughter. SYNOPSIS OF THE OPERA In the staged seances, of course, it is Mon- The short overture to Act One creates an ica who produces the otherworldly voices instant sense of foreboding; the first vocal — but now? Is it her imagination, or a trick, music, “Where are my new golden spindle or is there something there? and thread,” gives us an immediate clue An opera takes shape through its music, to the character of the singer, Monica. Her its plot, its characterizations, and finally, music is almost always simple and folklike, its stage setting: scenery, costumes, props, and shows a romantic, fairy-tale imagina- lighting, and the actions of the perform- tion utterly at odds with the cynical use ers while they are singing. Though the her mother makes of her. music of an opera conveys a good deal of The young people play games together its drama — and while some opera-lovers instead of preparing for the evening’s claim to care only about the singing — it seance, but in the music we hear the sud- is inevitable that some of the impact of the den slamming of the door. Baba appears, whole operatic creation is lost on a record- angry that nothing is ready and that Toby ing. It is left to our imagination to re-create has been costuming himself in her clothes. Baba’s shabby flat, her gypsy-colored cloth- She has been out to collect money from ing, the haunted and eager faces of the cli- a former client, and triumphantly slaps it ents, the white robes that turn Monica into down on the room’s big table to announce 6 her success. the last period of serenity in the opera, as The seance preparations, now quickly Toby, in spite of Baba’s accusations, joins made, include thin wires attached to the in the performance. He cannot sing, but table, which Toby surreptitiously pulls from he plays along with the women softly on a behind the curtain of a puppet theatre. tambourine. The act ends with eerie voices Monica wears the ghostly veils. She and and laughter that only Baba, praying franti- Toby are hidden by the time the shrill call cally, can hear. of the doorbell announces the arrival of Mr. The same ominous chords heard at the and Mrs. Gobineau and Mrs. Nolan. beginning of Act One open Act Two. Once The Gobineaus reassure Mrs. Nolan that again Toby and Monica are alone together; they have never failed to hear the voice he is entertaining her with a puppet play, of their Mickey. As the lights are lowered characterized by lively woodwind music, and the seance begins, Baba begins to moan and she rewards him with a waltz song that eerily, and Monica becomes visible in the becomes a one-sided love duet. Once again, corner: “Mother, mother, are you there?”. the music reveals the girl’s shining, inno- Mrs. Nolan believes this is her dear Doodly, cent goodness. As Toby dances for her, and and Monica sings to her about putting away then kneels at her feet, Monica not only her grief; she is happy where she is, only her tells him of her love, but speaks for him, of mother’s sadness makes her sad too. Once the love she realizes he feels for her. again, the musical style for Monica is simple The door slams; Baba has returned. She and gentle, even though she is expressing has turned from the conscience-stricken more complex emotions in this aria. remorse and prayerful pleading at the end Mr. Gobineau now begs for his son, and of Act One to an old refuge: drink. Monica faint childish laughter is heard. The illusion has fled to her room, and Baba is alone with is complete, when suddenly Baba screams: Toby. In the most lyrical music so far, she she has felt the touch of a cold hand, and reminds the boy how she has cared for him now nothing can be the same for her. all his life, and promises to reward him if he will just confess that he tried to frighten Stamping and shouting, Baba insists that her with a ghostly touch. The boy makes the clients leave, and we hear the door no sign either to acknowledge or deny, and once again as they depart in bewilderment Baba again becomes violent; the boy’s shirt and distress. Baba is hysterical; with a vio- is suddenly ripped from his back, and in lent gesture she pulls back the curtain of final desperation, Baba grabs a whip to beat the puppet theatre to accuse Toby of trying him. Will she beat him to death? She does to frighten her. not get the chance, because the doorbell Act One draws toward its close with the shrills again, to announce the return of the “Black Swan” aria and duet; it is almost Gobineaus and Mrs. Nolan. Baba has for- 7 gotten there was supposed to be a seance she is still asleep. Tiptoeing behind Baba, tonight. he heads for the trunk where he keeps his Once again we hear money being slapped tambourine; when he accidentally drops down on the table; Baba confesses the the lid, with a loud crash, Baba awakens. deception, concluding with, “There is your Toby hides behind the curtain of the pup- money.” But the clients refuse to believe pet theatre, so Baba sees no one; she must that they have not seen and heard their have heard the ghost! In terror, she grabs beloved dead children, not even when a gun and shoots at the curtain; with a rip Monica demonstrates Doodly’s song and and a crash, his dead body falls forward, Mickey’s laugh. As Mr. Gobineau puts it, “It and she screams in triumph, “I’ve killed might well be you thought you were cheat- the ghost!” Monica pounds on the bedroom ing us all the while, but you were not, you door, demanding to be released; seeing the were not.” They plead for one more seance, bloody scene, she runs away screaming but Baba drives them out mercilessly. She for help. also turns once again on Toby, drives him “As the curtain falls,” the composer writes, away too, and locks Monica in her room. “Baba kneels over Toby’s lifeless body, Alone, in a drunken, grieving stupor, she desperately seeking the truth in his unan- recalls the poverty and degradation she swering eyes.” witnessed in her youth, but those ter- — Andrea Lamoreaux rible things never made her afraid; why Andrea Lamoreaux is Program Executive at Fine is she afraid now? Once again she prays, Arts Radio Station WFMT-FM in Chicago. for forgiveness this time, and then falls asleep. Toby now creeps back; he scratches gently on the locked door, but there is no response. He runs behind the couch when Baba knocks over the bottle she had been drinking from, but emerges when he sees

8 THE MEDIUM Tragedy in Two Acts Words and Music by Gian Carlo Menotti THE CAST MONICA, daughter of Madame Flora ...... TOBY, a mute MADAME FLORA (Baba) ...... MRS. GOBINEAU ...... Soprano MR. GOBINEAU ...... MRS. NOLAN ...... Mezzo-Soprano The action takes place in Madame Flora’s parlor in our time. A squalid room in a flat on the outskirts of a great city. A narrow descending stair- well, stage left (leading down to the street). Stage right at the rear, a tall primitive puppet theater, with a white curtain to hide the standing pup- peteer. Next to it a small trunk. On the back wall a large astrological chart which will become transparent when light is placed behind it. Downstage right, a door. Upstage left, above the stairwell, a curtained doorway. Down- stage left, near the center, an old-fashioned three-legged table. Suspended above it a circular lamp of the Victorian period, which is lighted by means of a string. In a corner a tiny statue of the Virgin, with a rosary hanging from it, and a small votive candle in front of it burning in a red glass jar. Four chairs and a couch. On the wall, near the top of the stairwell, a small buzzer which unlocks the door downstairs. The doorbell which announces the visitors below must be very loud and strident, so as to be clearly heard above the orchestra. No windows. The time of day will be ambiguous throughout the play. 9  ACT I  I shall be your servant, I shall be your princess, (As the curtain rises, Toby is seen kneeling I shall be your foreign bride near the open trunk from which he draws Come from distant northern seas. out brightly colored pieces of silk and bead (bowing to each other) necklaces, bangles, etc. With some of these he How d’you do, my master, improvises for himself a fantastic costume. How d’you do, my King, Monica stands near the couch, which is cov- How d’you do, my love? ered by a long white dress and a white veil. (putting her arms around him; with great She holds a mirror in one hand, combing her feeling) loosened hair with the other.) Ah! Toby, if you only could speak! MONICA (A door slams below.) “Where, oh, where Be careful, Baba’s coming! Is my new golden spindle and thread? If I don’t bring them home (Frightened, Toby helped by Monica, tries The King will strike me dead!” unsuccessfully to free himself from the tan- Thus spoke the weeping queen to the gled silks and necklaces, but as soon as Baba gnome. appears they both stand frozen. Baba, who “Where, oh, where is my spindle and has been mounting the steps slowly, on seeing thread?” Toby, stops suddenly before reaching the stage (She suddenly sees Toby in her lifted mirror level, so that only the upper part of her body and turns around.) will be seen at first.) Oh! Toby, you foolish boy! BABA Baba will soon be home and nothing, noth- (after a very long silence, freely, very quietly, ing is ready! with sinister calm) Besides, you know she’ll beat you if you How many times I’ve told you not to touch touch her things. my things! (She continues combing her hair.) (scornfully after another long silence) “Queen, fair queen, Look at you! If you give me the crown on your head, Dressed with silk and bangles like a I’ll tell you where I have seen woman! Your golden spindle and thread.” Fancying yourself a King or something? Thus spoke the wicked gnome. (with sudden anger) (suddenly struck by Toby’s fantastic attire) Stop dreaming, you feeble-minded gipsy! Oh! Toby, how handsome you are! I told you not to touch my things! (playfully) (She mounts another step; quietly again.) Behold the King of Babylon Is anything ready? Of course not! On his purple throne! And the people will be here at any minute. 10 (She mounts another step.) then covers her head with the white veil. In If anything goes wrong tonight I’ll make the meantime, Toby, after manipulating the you pay for it! lamp and the table runs to the puppet theater, (She reaches the stage level; with mounting anger.) opens the curtain, revealing various levers What do you think I’m feeding you for? and cables hidden behind it. He tests some of You good-for-nothing, you dirty bastard! them, one of which levitates the table, another of which lowers the lamp. The doorbell rings. MONICA At a signal from Baba, Monica runs out from (restraining her) stage right. Toby hides in the puppet theater, No! Baba, don’t! drawing the white curtain in front of him- (Baba takes off her coat and hat.) self. Baba presses the buzzer which opens Where have you been all night? the latch-door downstairs, then gets a pack of BABA cards and sits in front of the table, pretending Where have I been? to be absorbed in a game of solitaire. Mr. and Ah! ah! money, my dear, money. Mrs. Gobineau, followed by Mrs. Nolan, enter (throwing a roll of bills on the table) from the stairwell.) Look, don’t worry, my sweet, you have a MRS. GOBINEAU very clever mother! Good evening, Madame Flora. MONICA MR. GOBINEAU Where did you get it? Good evening. BABA BABA Where? I sat on Mrs. Campi’s steps all night; (hardly looking up from her game) She got so scared of seeing me there she Come in, come in. paid ev’ry cent she still owed me. (Mr. and Mrs. Gobineau come into the room. (She breaks into raucous laugher.) After a brief pause, Mrs. Nolan appears at the MONICA top of the stairwell. She hesitates there, looking You shouldn’t have done it. timidly about the room.) BABA MRS. NOLAN Why? (timidly) Good evening. MONICA Mrs. Campi’s so poor. BABA (with more interest, but without getting up) BABA Good evening. Are you Mrs. Nolan? Pf! She owed me the money, didn’t she? Get ready! Hurry! MRS. NOLAN (Baba helps Monica into the white dress, and Yes. 11 (Baba motions her into the room.) MRS. GOBINEAU Oh, yes, you may even see her. BABA This is Mister and Mrs. Gobineau. MRS. NOLAN Oh, I couldn’t bear that! MR. & MRS. GOBINEAU How d’you do? MR. GOBINEAU Don’t be so nervous. It is all very simple. MRS. NOLAN (A long pause, during which Baba gets up How d’you do? abruptly and exits. When Mrs. Nolan is quite BABA sure that Baba has closed the door behind her, Let us wait a few minutes for late comers. she leans confidentially toward Mr. Gobineau.) Sit down. MRS. NOLAN (Mrs. Nolan and Mrs. Gobineau sit down. Baba Have you known her a long time? goes on with the game. Mr. Gobineau hangs up his coat and hat, then sits near his wife.) MR. GOBINEAU Oh, yes! We have been coming here ev’ry MRS. GOBINEAU week for almost two years. (to Mrs. Nolan, after a long pause) Is this the first time that you come to MRS. GOBINEAU Madame Flora? We come to communicate with our little son. MRS. NOLAN MRS. NOLAN Yes. (frightened) And does he speak to you? MR. GOBINEAU You’ll see she’s quite wonderful! MRS. GOBINEAU (smiling) MRS. GOBINEAU Oh, no, he couldn’t speak! (after a pause) He was only a baby when he died. Is there some dear departed you want to speak to? MR. GOBINEAU But we hear him laugh. MRS. NOLAN He sounds so happy. Yes, my daughter Doodly. MRS. NOLAN MRS. GOBINEAU When did he die? Oh, when did she die? MRS. GOBINEAU MRS. NOLAN (with simplicity) Last year, she was only sixteen. It happened long ago. (with sudden excitement) We were still young, very young. Do you really think I shall hear her voice? 12 We had a house in . With a garden full of lilacs and mimosa. in order, Baba slowly and deliberately pulls The garden had a fountain, the chain of the overhead lamp. The lights A silly little fountain, go out except the little candle in front of the No more deep than that . . . Madonna. There is a long pause. Noticing (sorrowfully) Mrs. Nolan’s nervousness, Mr. Gobineau leans It was just his birthday — two years old. towards her and speaks sotto voce.) We had given him a little boat, a lovely little sailboat. MR. GOBINEAU I still don’t know how it happened. (freely) He was playing by the fountain. You must be very silent. I was not far away, cutting some lilacs for The hands must touch. the house. (After a very long silence Baba moans louder I never heard a sound and louder, then suddenly breaks into a long, (fighting against tears) anguished scream. Behind the chart hanging And when I looked . . . on the wall, Monica slowly appears in a faint And when I looked . . . blue light. As Monica’s voice is heard, Baba’s And when I looked . . . moan dies away.) (Her voice breaks; she is convulsed in silent MONICA sobbing. Mr. Gobineau Mother, mother, are you there? comforts her.) Mother, mother, are you there? MR. GOBINEAU MR. GOBINEAU There, there, don’t cry. (excitedly) You know that he is happier now than if he Mrs. Nolan, it must be your daughter . . . had lived. (Baba reappears from the left, wearing a MRS. NOLAN bright colored shawl.) Oh! oh! BABA MR. GOBINEAU It’s time to begin. Close the door. Speak to her! Speak to her! (Mrs. Nolan, almost hysterical, springs up Can’t you see! She’s looking for you! from her chair, dropping her pocketbook. Mrs. Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid! Gobineau picks it up for her, then helps her MRS. NOLAN to take off her coat and leads her to the table. (sobbing) Meanwhile, Mr. Gobineau locks all the doors I . . .I can’t! and helps Baba to place the chairs around the table. They all sit down, Baba facing the MRS. GOBINEAU audience. Mrs. Gobineau shows Mrs. Nolan (kindly) how to join hands around the table. With a Come, come! You must not behave like that. last look about her to see that everything is MR. GOBINEAU 13 Ask her something. (with shaking voice) I . . . I’m very much alone. MRS. NOLAN (She bursts into tears.) (timidly) Doodly . . . is it you? MONICA (with great tenderness) MONICA Mummy, Mummy dear, you must not cry (after a pause) for me. Yes. I’m still with you. MR. GOBINEAU What is death but a sweeter change, Go on! There’s no parting, there’s no end. Mummy, Mummy dear, your sorrow’s like MRS. NOLAN a wound that keeps me awake. Doodly, is it evil what I’m doing? The earth is light, the roots are sweet; MONICA But the tears of those we love are heavy (after a pause) and bitter rain. No. Mummy, my darling, when you go home, Go to my room and burn my old gloves. MR. GOBINEAU Burn all my schoolbooks, You must not be so afraid! Give away my dresses, Ask her something else. Give away my necklace. MRS. NOLAN Burn, burn, give away, give away, (lovingly) And promise me never to cry again. Doodly, Doodly, are you happy? Mummy, Mummy dear, oh, let me sleep in peace, MONICA My night is long. Yes, mother, I am happy. Forget, forget my grave, MRS. NOLAN Let the silent grass clothe my bones. Doodly, Doodly, are you near your father? Burn all my shoes, Give away my bracelets. MONICA Burn, burn, give away, give away. Yes, mother, I can see him. Keep for yourself only the little gold locket. MRS. NOLAN MRS. NOLAN (desperately) (bewildered) Doodly, Doodly, why did you leave me? The gold locket? Which locket? I have no locket. MONICA MONICA Mother! Mother! Are you so unhappy? (begins to disappear little by little) MRS. NOLAN Mother, mother, are you there? 14 Mother, mother, are you there? Will you please be (dying away) silent! (Mrs. Nolan continues sobbing for a little MRS. NOLAN while. Baba sighs deeply, making a little I don’t understand . . . moan.) Doodly, Doodly, don’t go away. Oh, please stop her! MR. GOBINEAU (almost screaming) (very simply, almost mechanically) Doodly! Doodly! Send my son to me . . . (Monica completely disappears. Mrs. Nolan Please send my son to me. rushes toward the vanishing figure, but Mrs. (Monica is heard simulating a peal of childish Gobineau restrains her and leads her back to laughter. Their faces suddenly animated with her chair.) joyful anticipation, the Gobineaus look about them, as if trying to discover the direction of MRS. GOBINEAU the laughter. Mrs. Nolan seems startled and (spoken) frightened by the sound.) No! No! You mustn’t . . . Sit down! (spoken) MR. GOBINEAU Is that you, Mickey? (spoken) Hello, Mickey! Silence, please! MRS. GOBINEAU MRS. GOBINEAU (after a long pause, spoken) Yes, dear, yes . . . Hello, darling! My darling! You sound so I know, I know . . . near to-night! But you must keep calm . . . MR. GOBINEAU Come, come, sit down . . . Yes, so near. there! MRS. GOBINEAU MRS. NOLAN I can almost feel him. (spoken together) But I must speak to her . . . MR. GOBINEAU I must ask her to explain . . . Oh, he is going away now. Please let me . . . (The laughter dies away little by little.) MR. GOBINEAU MRS. GOBINEAU Silence! Good by, my sweet, kiss me. You will wake her . . . (Smiling, her eyes closed, Mrs. Gobineau lifts her Hold on to yourself, face as if to receive the kisses of her ghostly child.) Mrs. Nolan . . . Silence, silence, MR. GOBINEAU please! We’ll be back soon. 15 (Complete silence. There is a long pause. Sud- MR. GOBINEAU denly, with a loud gasp, Oh, yes, that has often happened to me. Baba clutches at her throat with both hands.) MRS. GOBINEAU BABA (tenderly) What is it? Who is it? Me too, I always feel Mickey’s hand on my Who is there? hair. (Baba gets up suddenly, throwing her chair back and turns on the light. She looks terror- BABA stricken at her clients, then runs wildly to the It couldn’t be. I can’t understand. top of the stairwell and looks down, then runs MR. GOBINEAU back. The clients look at each other in great You’re not afraid, are you? amazement and whisper among themselves.) (terror-stricken) BABA Who touched me? Go home, leave me alone. Can’t you see? I’m not feeling well. MR. GOBINEAU Go home, leave me alone. (bewildered) (stamping on the floor with sudden fury) What do you mean? Get out! BABA Get out! I said, who touched me? (Mr. and Mrs. Gobineau and Mrs. Nolan get their coats hurriedly and then begin slowly MR. & MRS. GOBINEAU to file out.) I don’t know, But why be afraid? MR. & MRS. GOBINEAU, MRS. NOLAN But why be afraid, afraid of our dead? MRS. NOLAN (They all disappear down the stairwell. At the I don’t know, slamming of the door downstairs, Monica runs But why be afraid? out from stage right, still wrapped in veils.) MR. & MRS. GOBINEAU MONICA There is nothing strange about that. Baba, what has happened? It often happened before. BABA MRS. NOLAN (whispered) I just don’t see what’s strange about that! Give me something to drink. (Monica goes to the cupboard and pours out a BABA drink. Baba is shaking all over.) (trembling with fear) Monica . . . No, no, you don’t understand. A hand touched me in the dark. MONICA 16 Yes . . . BABA (She draws the curtains of the puppet theater, We must never do this again. revealing Toby, motionless, as if in a trance.) (Baba drinks.) He! He’s the one! (Toby starts.) MONICA I know now! But what has happened? He did it! BABA Yes, yes . . . he did it! Monica . . . MONICA MONICA Oh, Baba, Baba, leave him alone! Yes . . . BABA BABA I can read it in his eyes. We must give them their money back. MONICA MONICA You’re drunk again! (surprised) BABA But why? Look at him! The way he grins at me. He BABA knows, he knows. Why? Didn’t you see? (Baba drags him out of the puppet theater.) While I was still pretending to be in a He did it to frighten me. trance, (to Toby) All of a sudden in the dark Isn’t it true? I felt on my throat a hand — MONICA A cold, cold hand. Nonsense! It wasn’t the hand of a man. (She tries to tear Baba away from Toby, who Monica, I’m afraid! is crouched on the floor trembling with fear.) MONICA BABA Baba, Baba, you’re imagining things! It was you who touched me! You’ve been drinking again. What else could it be? MONICA Oh! BABA No, no . . . no, it was there . . . BABA I felt on my skin . . .ev’ry finger . . . see . . It was you! It was you! . like this! He knows . . . he knows . . . Monica, Monica, I’m afraid! Yes, I’m afraid! MONICA Where is Toby? O, Baba, stop tormenting him! You know he is such a helpless thing. 17 BABA I had given him a kiss of fire, Ah! A helpless thing! And a golden ring, Just because he cannot speak we take him Don’t you hear your lover moan? for a half-wit, Eyes of glass and feet of stone, But he knows a great deal. Shells for teeth and weeds for tongue, He knows much more than we think. Deep, deep, down in the river’s bed he’s There is something uncanny about him. looking for the ring. He sees things we don’t see. Eyes wide open, never asleep, Get up! Get up! He’s looking for the ring, looking for the ring. The spools unravel and the needles break. MONICA Come, Baba! MONICA AND BABA Come, Baba! The sun is buried and the stars weep. O black wave, take me away with you. BABA I will share with you my golden hair, I tell you, don’t trust him! And my bridal crown, and my bridal I warn you — keep away from him! crown. Beware of him! Beware! Oh, take me down with you. (Monica draws her away from Toby. She sits Take me down to my wand’ring lover with down, and Baba lies at her feet, her head on my child unborn, Monica’s lap.) With my child unborn. MONICA VOICE Come, Baba. Come, Baba. (off-stage) (Monica begins gently to rock Baba.) Mother, mother, are you there? The sun has fallen and it lies in blood. Mother, mother, are you there? (Toby, already obvious of what has happened, BABA takes an old tambourine from under the Sh! couch, and lying on the floor, accompanies the Listen, listen . . . tune with soft taps on the instrument.) The moon is weaving bandages of gold. MONICA O black swan, where, oh, where is my lover What? gone? (laughter is heard) Torn and tattered is my bridal gown, And my lamp is lost, and my lamp is lost. BABA With silver needles and with silver thread, Can’t you hear? The stars stitch a shroud for the dying sun. (Monica shakes her head.) O black swan, where, oh, where has my MONICA lover gone? Again you’re imagining things. 18 BABA (Toby kneels down; Baba fetches the rosary No, no, I’m sure I heard a voice like yours. and sits as before, mumbling at Monica’s Someone must be hiding back there. feet.) Toby, go back and see who it is. BABA MONICA (mechanically, in a deep voice) Baba, don’t be foolish, Ave Maria, gratia plena, Nobody’s there! Dominus tecum etc. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei etc. BABA (to Toby) MONICA Go on, go on. Oh, The moon is weaving (Toby runs out.) bandages of gold. O black wave, MONICA O black wave, What has come over you, Baba? Take me down with you, I’ve never seen you like this. Take me down with you. BABA (Baba suddenly stops praying. Child’s laughter is We are not alone! We are not alone! heard as Baba hides her head in Monica’s lap.) He’s coming! He’s running back. (Toby reappears in the doorway. After staring  ACT II  at him in silence Baba says:) Did you see anything? (Same setting as Act I — evening, a few days (Toby shakes his head.) later. Monica is sitting in front of the puppet theater watching a performance. The pup- MONICA pets have fallen in a heap. Toby comes out to I told you, I told you there is nobody there. acknowledge Monica’s applause.) BABA MONICA (to Toby) Bravo! You’re lying! You don’t want to tell me . . . And after the theater, supper and dance. Liar! liar! Music! MONICA Um-pa-pa, um-pa-pa, Baba, stop it! (During this song, Toby, barefooted, dances about the stage.) BABA Up in the sky Oh, God, what is happening to me? Some-one is playing a trombone and a guitar. What is this darkness? Red is your tie. (forcing Toby to his knees) And in your velvetine coat you hide a star. Kneel down, kneel down, and pray God to Monica, Monica, dance the waltz. save our . Monica, Monica, dance the waltz. 19 Follow me, moon and sun, Don’t you know who I am? Keep time with me, one two three one. I’m the Queen of Aroundel! If you’re not shy, I shall have you put in chains! Pin up my hair with your star, and buckle (She kneels behind him again. Toby, falling my shoe. in with the game, mimics her words with And when you fly, gestures.) Please hold on tight to my waist, I’m flying You are my princess, you are my queen, with you. And I’m only Toby, one of your slaves, O, Monica, Monica, dance the waltz. And still I love you and always loved you Monica, Monica, dance the waltz. With all my breath, with all my blood. Follow me, moon and sun, I love your laughter, I love your hair, Follow me. I love your deep and nocturnal eyes. (Toby seizes Monica abruptly by the arm. She I love your soft hands, so white and turns and looks at him in complete astonish- winged, ment.) I love the slender branch of your throat. What is the matter, Toby? (She stands up before him.) What is it you want to tell me? Toby, don’t speak to me like that! (He looks at her in desperation, and gently You make my head swim. touches her face. Monica begins to understand.) (She runs behind Toby.) MONICA MONICA Kneel down before me, Monica, Monica, fold me in your satin (Toby kneels.) gown. And now, tell me . . . Monica, Monica, give me your mouth, (She kneels behind Toby, as if the words were Monica, Monica, fall in my arms. coming from him, and makes Toby look up as (Toby suddenly hides his face in his arms. if she were still standing in front of him. With Monica stares at him, completely bewildered.) slightly exagerated pathos she says:) Why, Toby! Monica, Monica, can’t you see, You’re not crying, are you? That my heart is bleeding, bleeding for (She caresses his head. Then lifting his tear- you? stained face, looks into his eyes. With great I loved you, Monica, all my life, tenderness she says:) With all my breath, with all my blood. Toby, I want you to know that you have the You haunt the mirror of my sleep, most beautiful voice in the world! You are my night. (A door slams. Baba is heard dragging herself You are my light and the jailer of my day. up the stairs. Monica runs out, into her room. (Quickly she gets up and stands before him.) Toby crouches in the corner. Baba appears, How dare you, scoundrel, talk to me like dark, dishevelled, a bottle in her hand.) that! BABA 20 Where is Monica? (very winningly) (Toby points to the door at the right. Baba Just tell me, yes, or no. takes off her large shawl and sits meditatively (after a long pause) at the table. With strained affection she says:) Come, don’t be afraid, yes, or no. Toby, what are you doing? (making great efforts to contain herself) Come here, Toby. I know it anyway, but show me how you I want to talk to you. did it. (Toby begins to crawl toward her, but very Come on, wake up, wake up, I say, damn hesitatingly, with apparent misgivings.) you! Come, come near me. (She suddenly springs up with rage. Then What are you afraid of? she sinks back into her chair, regretting her Come, come nearer, this way. outburst.) (She takes his head in her lap.) You see, you make me angry, and I want to be your friend. BABA Now tell me, my sweet, my own little Toby, (with calculated tenderness) did you touch me that night? Toby, you know that I love you as if you You like that bolt of red silk, don’t you? were my own son. Would you like to have it? I’m often harsh with you, that’s true. All you have to make is one little sign, and Still, still, if it hadn’t been for me, they will be yours. Where would you be now? (gently) I found you, a little starving gipsy, roaming It was you who touched me, wasn’t it? the streets of Budapest Perhaps it was not you after all . . . without a tongue to speak your hunger. Perhaps it was something else . . . If I hadn’t taken you with me, who would Something I couldn’t see? have cared for you, poor little But you know, you saw it! half-wit? I can read it in your eyes! And now, listen, now we must be good Come on, say yes, or no! friends. Stop staring at me! I’ll never punish you, never, never again, (Toby tries to run away; she grabs him by his And I will buy you a new shirt of bright red shirt and tears it off his back.) silk and a golden scarf. Don’t go away! (freely) You see, you’re making me angry again! But first you must tell me. (with mounting excitement) Were you the one who touched my throat? You love Monica, don’t you? You know, at the seance a few days ago . . . How would you like to marry her? Don’t be afraid of telling me. Yes, you could, you could. I won’t punish you. But first you must tell me, did you have I just want to know, that is all. anything to do with what happened that 21 night? MR. GOBINEAU Did you see anything? Good evening. A light? a shape? Wake up! BABA Did you? What do you want? Stop staring at me! MR. & MRS. GOBINEAU Did you? Isn’t this the night of the seance? (with uncontrolled fury) Ah, so! BABA You don’t want to answer. The seance? You’re trying to frighten me. Yes, yes, I’m glad you came. I’ll show you, damn little gipsy, I’ve something to tell you, come in. (She goes to cupboard and brings out a long (The three clients advance into the room.) whip. Toby runs away from her in terror.) There will be no more seances. I’ll make you talk! There is your money. I’ll make you talk! (She brusquely throws a wad of money on You cannot get away from me! the table.) (She chases him around the table.) MRS. NOLAN I’ll make you spit out blood, I will. No more seances? (Toby trips and falls near the couch.) I’ll make you spit out blood! MR. GOBINEAU So you won’t answer, eh! What do you mean? (She whips him.) BABA So you won’t answer, eh! Listen to me! (The doorbell rings repeatedly and very loudly. There never was a seance! Baba suddenly realizes that the doorbell is ringing. I cheated you! She stands still for a moment, panting hoarsely, Do you understand? then walks haltingly to stage left and rings the Cheated you, cheated you! buzzer. Monica runs in from stage right.) MR. & MRS. GOBINEAU, MRS. NOLAN MONICA How could it be? Oh, Baba, what did you do to him? It isn’t true, you must not say so! (She comforts Toby. Mr. and Mrs. Gobineau and Mrs. Nolan come up the stairs. They stop MRS. NOLAN rather surprised on the landing.) I clearly saw my daughter, I saw her, with my own eyes! MRS. GOBINEAU AND MRS. NOLAN Good evening, Madame Flora. MR. & MRS. GOBINEAU And little Mickey, laughing, 22 touching my hair! Oh, no! You know that isn’t the same! BABA BABA Nothing but a fraud, You fools! I can prove it to you. What more proofs do you want? (She goes to the puppet theater and pulls the cables which levitate the table and control the lamp) MRS. NOLAN Look here, the lights, the wires to make the Not to know my own daughter’s voice! table move. Could that be? Could that be? The hidden microphone. MR. & MRS. GOBINEAU MRS. NOLAN Not to know little Mickey’s touch! (intensely) Could that be? Could that be? Oh, no! I saw my daughter, I saw her! MRS. NOLAN BABA No, no, no, it wasn’t a fraud! Your daughter, here she is! What you said is not the truth! Cheap white gauze, nothing else. BABA MRS. NOLAN What? You don’t believe me! But I spoke to her. MRS. NOLAN BABA I even found the little locket she talked Monica, Monica, let her hear your voice, about. show her. MR. & MRS. GOBINEAU MONICA Did you? (reluctantly) BABA “Mother, mother, are you there? The locket? Mother, mother, are you there?” Ev’rybody has some old locket. MRS. NOLAN It’s an old trick; we use it on ev’ry mother! Oh, no, no, no, that isn’t the same voice! MR. GOBINEAU BABA (almost fiercely) And do the little boy laughing. It might well be you thought you were cheating all the while, MONICA But you were not, you were not. (imitates the peals of childish laughter as in the first Act.) MR. & MRS. GOBINEAU, MRS. NOLAN Surely now, you won’t let us down! MRS. GOBINEAU What would we do without your guidance? (with desperate determination) (The three clients suddenly stand expression- 23 less like automatons.) (The door slams.) Please let us have our seance, Madame Flora! BABA Just let us hear it once more, Madame (to Toby) Flora! And you, you too get out and never come This is the only joy we have in our lives, back! Madame Flora! MONICA Our little dead are waiting for us, Madame Don’t say that! Toby, so helpless! Flora! You wouldn’t keep us away from them BABA would you, Madame Flora? Yes, he must go! Please let us have our seance, Madame Flora! MONICA Just let us have it once more, just once No, Baba, you cannot send him away. more, Madame Flora! You know he can’t take care of himself. BABA BABA You must believe me! I don’t care. You must believe me! (declaimed at a high pitch, as before) MONICA It is foolish of you! He is hardly more than a child. You must believe me! BABA You must! That may be, but still he must go away. (trying in vain to force the money into their I cannot bear to see those hunted eyes. hands) Here is your money . . . MONICA Take it! Please! Then let me go and take care of him! Take it! BABA Go to someone else! You’ll do nothing of the sort! Please! Please! MONICA BABA Yes, Baba, if he must go, I will too. (with sudden fury) Get out of here, get out, get out! BABA Get out of here. You’ll do nothing of the sort! You fools! You fools! MONICA (The Gobineaus and Mrs. Nolan greatly fright- Baba! ened, disappear down the stairwell.) Fools! BABA Fools! He must go! 24 MONICA Baba is left alone on stage.) Baba! VOICE BABA Mother, mother, are you there? He must go, go away! (She stands stock-still and terror stricken.) MONICA BABA How can you be so cruel? Poor boy! Who’s there? Is it you, Monica? (She abruptly moves toward the bedroom. BABA After listening at the door, she quickly locks it, Don’t worry, he will take care of himself, then leans against it with a sigh of relief. She He’ll surely find a place where he can stay. begins to walk toward the table.) MONICA VOICE Oh, please don’t let him go! Mother, mother, are you there? BABA (At the sound of the voice, she stands frozen. I cannot bear to look at him! She interrupts the voice with a cry.) I tell you he must go! BABA MONICA (shouted) Oh, please don’t let him go! Stop it! (to Toby) Don’t go! (She goes to the cupboard and pours herself several drinks then brings the bottle and glass BABA to the table. She sits down.) Yes, he must go before it is too late! Afraid, am I afraid? Get out, get out! Madame Flora afraid! (Toby starts quickly down the stairwell.) Can it be that I’m afraid? MONICA In my young days I have seen many ter- (shouted) rible things! Toby! Women screaming as they were murdered, (At the sound of Monica’s voice, Toby stops and And men’s hands dripping with blood, and turns hesitantly toward her. Monica runs to men haunted by knives. him; they clasp each other in a brief but des- And little grotesque children drained white perate embrace. Then Toby frees himself and by the voraciousness of filth, disappears down the stairwell. Monica sees the And loathsome old men insane with vice, puppets lying on the floor. She picks them up.) And young men with cankers crawling on Don’t stand there like a fool! their flesh like hungry lizards. Go into your room! This I’ve seen, and more, and never been Leave him alone. afraid. He’ll take care of himself. O God! Forgive my sins, (Monica goes into her room, banging the door. 25 I’m sick and old. the bottle down. Toby runs behind the couch, Forgive my sins and give me peace! then very slowly creeps out again. Toby again What ill wind shakes my hand? tries the door. He knocks at it, whimpering What unseen ghost stands by my side? softly like an animal. Receiving no answer, No, no, it cannot be the dead! Toby runs to the trunk and begins to rum- The dead . . . the dead . . . mage among the silks in search of his tambou- The dead never come back. rine. The trunk lid falls sharply. Baba wakes They sink down in the dust up with a start. Toby hides behind the curtain With no eyes to dream and no silence to of the puppet theater.) keep, No secrets to hide! BABA Gone, empty, nothing, nothing. Who’s there? Who’s there? (drowsily and a little drunkenly) Answer me! “O black swan, where, oh, where is my Monica, Monica, is it you? lover gone?” Who is it then? (Wheeling about in her chair, she breaks off If you are human, answer me! the song with a startled cry.) Who is it? Who is it? Who is there? (She takes a revolver out of a drawer in the (Her voice shaking, scarcely daring to breathe, table. She says hysterically:) she stares fixedly into the darkness and listens.) Speak out or I’ll shoot! “O black swan, O black swan . . .” I’ll shoot! I’ll shoot! (turning again with a cry) Answer me! Answer me! What? I’ll shoot! I’ll shoot! (After a long silence, with a sigh of relief.) (The curtain moves. Baba screams and fires at Nothing, but then if there is nothing to be it several times. Suddenly Toby’s hand appears afraid of why am I afraid of above the curtain, as if to ward off the bullets. this nothingness? Then the fingers slowly clench and the hand I must forget about it, laugh at it, yes, laugh disappears. The curtain is now clutched tightly at it! from inside. A spot of blood gradually appears (She chuckles drunkenly. Little by little, her and runs the length of the white cloth.) laugher becomes wilder. Her laughter has I’ve killed the ghost! now reached an hysterical pitch. She suddenly I’ve killed the ghost! stops laughing.) (Both of Toby’s hands are now seen clutch- O God, forgive my sins, ing at the curtain. The rod breaks under his I’m sick and old. weight, and, wrapped in the curtain, he falls (She falls asleep. Toby comes up the stairwell. headlong into the room. Monica pounds at the Cautiously, he walks tiptoe to Monica’s door. door from within.) He finds the door locked. He scratches softly MONICA on the door. Baba stirs in her sleep, knocking Baba! Baba! 26 Let me in! Let me in! Metropolitan Opera including Orlovsky (Baba slowly unlocks the door. Monica rushes in Die Fledermaus, the Witch in Hansel in. Seeing Toby’s body, she stops short and and Gretel, Frugala in Il tabarro and Zita sways as if suddenly ill.) in Gianni Schicchi. At the New York City Oh! Opera she has performed Mrs. Lovett in (Calling in a faint, broken voice she slowly the Hal Prince production of Sweeney Todd, moves toward the stairwell.) Madame d’Urfe in the New York premiere Help! Help! of Argento’s Casanova, Augusta Tabor in (louder as she runs downstairs) The Ballad of Baby Doe, Baba the Turk in Help! the Hockney production of The Rake’s Prog- (The door slams. Baba slowly bends over Toby.) ress, Fata Morgana in The Love for Three Oranges, and The Old Lady in Candide. She BABA has also sung with Lyric Opera of Chicago, (in a hoarse whisper) Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, and the Was it you? Was it you? Washington Opera, and appears regularly ©1947 (Renewed) 1967 by G. Schirmer, Inc. at opera houses throughout Canada and (ASCAP) Reprinted by Permission. Europe. Joyce Castle has performed and recorded a wide variety of twentieth century music. About the Artists  In repertoire ranging from Bernstein to Mezzo-soprano Joyce Castle brings her Ligeti and Weill, she has appeared as solo- finely crafted interpretation of Baba from ist with such orchestras as the New York the stage to this Cedille recording of The Philharmonic, London Symphony Orches- Medium. Her distinguished international tra, San Francisco Symphony, Baltimore career includes such diverse roles as Claire Symphony, Accademia de Santa Cecilia in Zakanassian in Von Einem’s The Visit of Rome, Orchestre Nationale de France, and the Old Lady (New York premiere), Alla the Jerusalem Symphony. Miss Castle may Nazimova in Argento’s The Dream of Val- be heard on New World Records’ Grammy entino (world premiere), Augusta Tabor in Award winning recording of Candide, the The Ballad of Baby Doe, Klytemnestra in Koch International Classics’ recording titled Elektra, and Fricka and Waltraute in The The Music of Stefan Wolpe, and was chosen Ring. Of her performances, New York critic by Stephen Sondheim to record “Send in Bill Zakariasen wrote “In the dual assign- the Clowns” for the Book-of-the-Month col- ment of Fricka and Waltraute Joyce Castle lection, Sondheim. decisively proved her pre-eminence among Joyce Castle’s association with the mezzo-.” of Gian Carlo Menotti began early in her Miss Castle has performed as a principal career with performances of The Saint of artist in over a dozen productions at the Bleecker Street (Assunta). She has since per- 27 formed the Mother in at L’Opera (CDR 90000 025), twenty five songs by de Montréal and recorded Miss Todd in The twenty five different composers on Songs Old Maid and the Thief for Radio France. of the Romantic Age (CDR 90000 019), and This recording of The Medium reflects an Dominick Argento’s Six Elizabethan Songs interpretation developed through two pro- with the Rembrandt Players on ductions representing over forty perfor- Twentieth Century Baroque (CDR 90000 011). mances of the work. Her recordings for other labels include Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Sir Georg Patrice Michaels Bedi has sung with opera Solti and the Chicago Symphony for Lon- companies throughout North America don Records, Mozart’s Requiem on the including Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Amadis label, and Mozart’s C minor Mass Cleveland Opera, Milwaukee’s Florentine with Chicago’s Music of the Baroque. Opera, the Tacoma Opera, Colorado’s Cen- tral City Opera, and at the Banff Centre in Soprano Diane Ragains has appeared with Canada. Of her performance as Monica in opera companies throughout the United Chicago Opera Theater’s 1992 production of States and is particularly noted for her por- The Medium, the Chicago Sun-Times wrote, trayals of important roles in major twen- “Patrice Michaels Bedi offered a deft balance tieth century operas, including those by between innocence and knowledge. Her Britten (The Turn of the Screw, Albert Her- bright soprano was a ray of youthful sun- ring), Knussen (Where the Wild Things Are), light.” In concert, she has sung with noted Ward (The Crucible), and Menotti (The Con- ensembles including the St. Louis, Atlanta, sul, The Medium), among others. She has Milwaukee, San Antonio, and Shanghai appeared in concert with major ensembles Symphonies, the Minnesota Orchestra, Chi- including the Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinna- cago’s Grant Park Symphony and Music of ti, and New Jersey Symphonies, Chicago’s the Baroque, the Maryland Handel Festival, Grant Park Symphony, and the Vermeer the Chicago Baroque Ensemble, and Boston Quartet. Ms. Ragains’ acclaimed musician- Baroque. Conductors with whom she has ship has led many contemporary compos- collaborated include Shaw, Stanislaw ers to write specifically for her. She has Skrowaczewski, Nicolas McGegan, Joseph previously recorded Six German Songs by Silverstein, Andrew Parrott, and Zdenek Louis Spohr and Stravinsky’s Shakespeare Macal. Songs for Crystal Records, and Automobile Miss Michaels Bedi’s acclaimed recordings by Russell Peck and Romancero by Mario for Cedille Records include songs by Argen- Davidovsky for the CRI label. to and Vaughan Williams on To Be Sung Upon the Water (CDR 90000 029), cantatas -baritone Peter Van De Graaff has sung and motets by Vivaldi with the Chicago with many prestigious opera companies Baroque Ensemble on A Vivaldi Concert including Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago 28 Opera Theater, Rochester Opera Theater, (1995) and Douglas Moore’s The Ballad of and Milwaukee’s Florentine Opera. He is Baby Doe as Elizabeth Tabor (1994). She also active on the concert stage, having has also sung in Chamber Opera Chicago’s appeared with orchestras throughout the productions of La Bohème, Tosca, Werther, United States including the New Orleans, and Lawrence Rapchak’s The Lifework of San Antonio, and Utah Symphonies, and in Juan Diaz. From 1989 through 1993, Miss Europe with the Czech State Philharmonic Lind was a member of Lyric Opera of Chi- and Budapest Concert Orchestras. A native cago’s children’s chorus. of the Chicago area, Mr. Van De Graaff has soloed with many local ensembles includ- Lawrence Rapchak has served as Music ing Music of the Baroque, the New Oratorio Director of Chicago Opera Theater since singers, the Chorus, and Symphony 1994, for which he recently conducted the of the Shores. He can be heard as a soloist Chicago premiere of Daron Hagen’s Shin- in Joseph Martin Kraus’s oratorio Der Tot ing Brow. He has also conducted the Lou- Jesu on the German Pan label. isville Orchestra, Prague Radio Sympho- ny, and Chicago Pro Musica, and serves Mezzo-soprano Barbara Landis has per- as Principal Guest Conductor for the formed extensively throughout the Chicago Northwest Indiana Symphony. As a com- area, including for Chicago Opera Theater poser, Mr. Rapchak’s most recent work, and the Lyric Opera Guild. Of one such Saetas, was commissioned and premiered performance, the Chicago Sun-Times wrote by the Chicago Symphony. His music has “Barbara Landis possesses a rich mezzo also been performed by the orchestras of voice and her dark expressive eyes helped Detroit, Louisville, and Omaha. Mr. Rap- propel the drama . . .” Ms. Landis has also chak’s opera, The Lifework of Juan Diaz, performed recently at the Colorado Lyric based on a story by Ray Bradbury, was Theater Festival and the Britten-Pears premiered by Chamber Opera Chicago school in England, where her performance, and released on CD by Albany Records. as Lucretia, of excerpts from Britten’s The Mr. Rapchak is also a regular pre-concert Rape of Lucretia, was taped for broadcast by speaker for the Chicago Symphony. the BBC. In addition to pure operatic roles, recent performances have included turns as Mad Margaret in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Rud- digore, and Aldonza in Man of La Mancha.

Joanna Lind has appeared in Chicago Opera Theater’s productions of Mozart’s The Flute as one of the three genies

29 Patrice Michaels Bedi Photo by Dan Rest Joyce Castle Photo by Carol Rosegg FIRST TIME ON COMPACT DISC GIAN CARLO MENOTTI (b. 1911) THE MEDIUM MADAME FLORA (Baba) ...... Joyce Castle MONICA ...... Patrice Michaels Bedi MRS. GOBINEAU ...... Diane Ragains MR. GOBINEAU ...... Peter Van De Graaff MRS. NOLAN ...... Barbara Landis GIRL’S VOICE* ...... Joanna Lind Ensemble of Chicago Opera Theater Lawrence Rapchak, conductor Teresa Fream and Eugene Pazin, violins; Teri Van Valkinburgh, viola; Wil- liam Cernota, cello, Gregory Sarchet, bass; Lyon Leifer, flute; Judith Z. Lewis/Grover Schiltz, oboe; Linda Baker, clarinet; Amy Rhodes, bassoon; Robert Johnson, horn; Ross Beacraft, trumpet; Michael Folker, percussion; Michael J. Wilson and Michael Cullen, piano. Additional strings*: Daniela Folker, violin; Henrietta Neeley, viola. *Heard at special moments in the opera (the mute role of Toby is not represented on the recording).

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