Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Consul, a Pulitzer Prize–winning opera, is a gripping portrayal of bureaucratic despair and political oppression, following the harrowing journey of a woman seeking exit visas for her family to escape and reunite with her fugitive husband. Written by Menotti himself—an Italian American immigrant—the opera blends haunting lyricism with stark realism to expose the human cost of authoritarian regimes.