The Old Maid and the Thief

Respectable Miss Todd lives together with her maid Laetitia in a small American town. One day a good-looking tramp called Bob comes by and Laetitia convinces her mistress to take him in. Soon thereafter, the town is in a serious flap. Word has it an escaped convict is on the loose. Miss Todd and Laetitia are all a-tremble at the notion that Bob might be the criminal on the run, while also enjoying the pleasant frisson that Bob’s fascination increases even further. When Bob decides to move on, they do everything in their power to stop him and spread the word in the town that he is Miss Todd’s cousin. But things come to a head. Theft in the neighbourhood multiplies, and a liquor store is even plundered. Secretly, however, to keep her beau in booze

while also maintaining her reputation as the town’s most respected abstainer, Miss Todd has robbed the store. But how long can it last, and is Bob actually the dangerous, murderous robber? Gian Carlo Menotti originally wrote his opera in 1939 for radio, and in it, he combined social satire, romance and a crime plot into a thrilling and entertaining one-hour performance about self-deception, secret desires and the yearning for a new life.

THE OLD MAID AND THE THIEF programme reading sample