The Telephone

Gian Carlo Menotti. Paired with “One Device” from The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, Mason Bates.

The Santa Fe Opera, Touring Production.

Santa Fe, Truth or Consequences, and Roswell, NM.

Two lovers, Ben and Lucy, squeeze in some supposed quality time together before Ben catches a train. He expresses how much he cares about her–preparing to ask for her hand in marriage–when each time he gets close, he’s interrupted by the ringing telephone. Lucy answers and eagerly listens to the mundane details of the caller’s life, demonstrating more investment in conversation over the phone than in one right before her. When she hangs up Ben re-gathers the courage to propose to her, only to be interrupted again by the phone ringing. The delightful irony of the opera lies in its ending–how Ben leaves and calls Lucy on a pay phone and only then, can he hold her attention long enough to ask her to marry him.