La materializzazione del tempo e la drammaturgia dell'amore: différance, Eistand e kairòs nell'opera The Telephone di Gian Carlo Menotti

Abstract

This study arises from the intention to explore Gian Carlo Menotti’s opera buffa The Telephone through the tools of aesthetic-musicological investigation and the categories of the Philosophy of music, time, and emotions. The main aim is not merely to identify hidden meanings or added values in the composer’s musical dramaturgy, but rather to establish a dialogue—still largely discontinuous—between Music Analysis and philosophical reflection on time and emotions.

The opera lends itself particularly well to an analysis of the materialization of scenic-musical time, as its dramaturgy stages, from the very symbol of the personified telephone, a central issue: the crisis of consciousness and unconsciousness regarding the opposition between phenomenal time and psychological time, within a space-time marked by “deferred” human communication, alienated by the mechanical medium.

The investigation unfolds through the theories of philosophers such as Jankélévitch and Levinas, who offer tools for understanding the conflict and reconciliation of dramaturgical-musical time. In particular, the opera stages the tension between the protagonist Ben and the Telephone, which takes on the role of co-protagonist and rival in the pursuit of Lucy. Through this dynamic, Menotti reflects on the tension between the time of desire, waiting, and action, culminating in its resolution in the final scene, when the time of reconciliation is realized through the waltz.

The waltz, with its harmony and shared rhythm, represents the time of love and eros, but also the act of agape—a time of unconditional giving—and the experience of the Other (Autrui) in the Levinasian sense. It is at this moment that the protagonist Ben recognizes the face of the Other in his rival, thus opening a space for empathy and authentic relationship, overcoming mere competition and reaching a form of human communion.

In summary, the study highlights how The Telephone is not merely a light-hearted comedy, but an opera that, through its musical and dramaturgical weave, deeply addresses the theme of time as a relational and ethical dimension, offering insights for a philosophical-aesthetic reflection on communication, love, and the encounter with the Other.