''The Island God'' is a one-act

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

Gian Carlo Menotti Gian Carlo Menotti (, ; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian composer, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept h ...

with a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

by the composer. It was first performed on February 20, 1942, at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Although the opera’s only performances were in English, Menotti wrote the libretto in Italian (as ''Ilo e

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

'').

Performance history

''The Island God'' received four performances at the Metropolitan Opera, appearing on double bills with ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who m ...

'' and '' La bohème''. Although the cast included Leonard Warren as Ilo and Astrid Varnay as Telea, the opera was not a success. Reviewing the opera in ''Musical America'', Oscar Thompson called it “more effective as a literary conception than something of opera.” Menotti was dissatisfied with the opera's staging and began demanding greater input on productions of his works. ''The Island God'' has not been performed since its premiere; Menotti reportedly destroyed all copies of the score. In a 1996 interview, Menotti dismissed the opera as “a big bore.” When asked about a revival, he replied, “I’ll never give you that torment.”

Roles

Synopsis

Ilo, a fisherman, and his wife Telea arrive on a deserted island, where they discover a ruined temple. When Ilo gives thanks to the temple’s god for his safe arrival, the god comes to life and orders Ilo to rebuild the temple. While Ilo is absorbed in his work, another fisherman, Luca, arrives on the island. He and Telea quickly fall in love and make plans to flee the island. When Ilo discovers the plan, Luca and Telea trap him in a fishing net and escape. Believing that the god has abandoned him, Ilo destroys the temple. The god then kills Ilo, only to perish because no one is left to worship him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Island God, The Operas by Gian Carlo Menotti Operas 1942 operas One-act operas Opera world premieres at the Metropolitan Opera