The Island God is a one-act opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 by Gian Carlo Menotti

Gian Carlo Menotti

Gian Carlo Menotti was an Italian-American composer and librettist. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept his Italian citizenship. He wrote the classic Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, among about two dozen other operas intended to appeal to popular...

 with a libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

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

Metropolitan Opera

The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...

 in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.

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

Zeus

In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...

).

Performance history

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

Pagliacci

Pagliacci , sometimes incorrectly rendered with a definite article as I Pagliacci, is an opera consisting of a prologue and two acts written and composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo. It recounts the tragedy of a jealous husband in a commedia dell'arte troupe...

and La bohème

La bohème

La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...

. Although the cast included Leonard Warren

Leonard Warren

Leonard Warren was a famous American opera singer. A baritone, he was a leading artist for many years with the Metropolitan Opera in New York.-Biography:...

 as Ilo and Astrid Varnay

Astrid Varnay

Ibolyka Astrid Maria Varnay was an American dramatic soprano of Hungarian heritage and Swedish birth, who did most of her work in the United States and Germany. She was one of the best-known Wagnerian heroic sopranos of her generation...

 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 opera has not been performed since its premiere; it has been reported that Menotti 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

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, February 20, 1942 (Conductor: - Ettore Panizza Ettore Panizza Ettore Panizza was an Argentinian conductor and composer, one of the leading conductors of the early 20th century. Panizza possessed technical mastery and was popular and influential during his time, widely admired by Richard Strauss.- Biography :Panizza was born in Buenos Aires, of Italian parents... )
Ilo	baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...	Leonard Warren Leonard Warren Leonard Warren was a famous American opera singer. A baritone, he was a leading artist for many years with the Metropolitan Opera in New York.-Biography:...
Greek God	bass Bass (voice type) A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...	Norman Cordon
Telea	soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...	Astrid Varnay Astrid Varnay Ibolyka Astrid Maria Varnay was an American dramatic soprano of Hungarian heritage and Swedish birth, who did most of her work in the United States and Germany. She was one of the best-known Wagnerian heroic sopranos of her generation...
Luca	tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...	Raoul Jobin Raoul Jobin Raoul Jobin, was a French-Canadian operatic tenor, particularly associated with the French repertory.- Life and career :...
Fisherman's Voice	tenor	John Carter

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.