The Telephone
Based onThe Telephone by Menotti
Produced byGeorge Trevare
StarringMarie Tysoe
Kevin Mills
Production
company
Release date
20 December 1956
Running time
30 mins
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

The Telephone is a 1956 Australian television play. It was a filmed version of the opera The Telephone by Menotti.[1] It was the first of many operas broadcast by the ABC.[2] It went for 25 minutes and only featured two people, played by Marie Tysoe and Kevin Mills.[3]

Premise

Ben attempts to marry Lucy but she keeps gossiping on the telephone. Ben decides to propose to her on the phone.

Cast

  • Kevin Mills as Ben
  • Marie Tysoe as Lucy

Background

Tysoe and Mills had performed the opera together many times in 1953 and 1954, on stage and on radio.[4][5][6]

Marie Tysoe later recalled making the film:

It was done live to air from the radio studio at Kings Cross. The OB Van was parked at Kellett Street, and I remember all the cables going through the windows down to the van. The Sydney Symphony Orchestra was there. We had a marvellous producer, George Trevare, and it all went without a hitch. I actually sang this opera before for a group of singers called the Sydney Opera Group. The ABC – that is Tony Hughes or Werner Baer - probably knew about that, and I got the call. It was an ideal opera to start off on television, as it only had 2 performers and was a relatively simple set and not many props. During rehearsal I remember the producer asking me what I was going to wear. The conductor and one of the stage managers took me to a boutique shop at Kings Cross, and they bought an elegant dress for me to wear on the production.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "NewsLocal digital edition".
  2. ↑ "Advertisement". ABC Weekly. 15 December 1956.
  3. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  4. ↑ ""The Telephone" Preview". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 36, 129. New South Wales, Australia. 7 October 1953. p. 12. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  5. ↑ 'Talent Soars in Menotti Opera' The Age 22 July 1954
  6. ↑ ""Telephone" Sung At Art Gallery". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 36, 296. New South Wales, Australia. 21 April 1954. p. 8. Retrieved 31 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ Interview with Marie Tysoe


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