Gian Carlo Menotti’s “Labyrinth“ (World premiere, 1963)

“I got so bored watching television that I wrote this little TV opera as a protest. A PROTEST.“ That is a quote by Menotti from Life magazine following the premiere of this riddle of an opera in one act. He saw it as a fantasy and a sort of morality play -- full of dreams, hallucinations and symbolism. A Bride and Groom on honeymoon at a hotel and cannot find the key to their room. Menotti felt that Death is the key that finally reveals to man the blinding answer to his metaphysical questions. The opera had this one performance on March 3, 1963. Cast: Judith Raskin as The Bride John Reardon as The Groom Elaine Bonazzi as The Spy Robert White as The Old Man Beverly Wolff as The Executive Director Leon Lishner as The Desk Clerk Nikiforos Naneris as The Bellboy Frank Porretta as The Astronaut Leon Lishner as Death John West as Death’s Assistant Eugene Green as The Italian Opera Singer Bob Rickner as The Executive Director’s Secretary Link to my Judith Raskin playlist: