About the work
The Old Maid and the Thief is a one-act opera buffa by Gian Carlo Menotti to his own English libretto, commissioned by NBC as the first American opera written expressly for radio. It was first broadcast live on NBC on April 22, 1939, and received its first staged performance in 1941 at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia.
Plot
In a small American town, the well-off spinster Miss Todd, urged by her housekeeper Laetitia, takes in the drifter Bob and falls for him. On hearing that an escaped convict matches his description, she starts stealing money from her neighbours to keep him, while the town gossip Miss Pinkerton grows suspicious. In the end Bob and Laetitia rob Miss Todd's house and flee together.
Cultural significance
The radio premiere was received with enthusiasm by American music critics and helped establish Menotti's reputation in the United States; thanks to its compact one-act form and English text, the piece remains a staple of American opera-training programs.