THE OLD MAID AND THE THIEF

In the organizer's words:

The honorable Miss Todd lives with her maid Laetitia in a small American town. One day, a handsome tramp called Bob turns up on the doorstep and Laetitia convinces her mistress to take him in. Soon after, the town is in an uproar: An escaped convict is said to be prowling the neighborhood. Miss Todd and Laetitia shudder at the thought that Bob could be the criminal they are looking for - and at the same time enjoy the pleasurable shudder that adds to Bob's fascination. When Bob wants to move on, they do everything they can to keep him and claim in town that he is Miss Todd's cousin. But the situation comes to a head: thefts in the neighborhood increase and even a liquor store is looted. What no one knows is that Miss Todd has robbed the store in order to supply her favorite with alcohol and at the same time maintain her reputation as the leader of the teetotalers. But how long can this go on - and is Bob really the dangerous robber?

Gian Carlo Menotti originally wrote his opera for the radio in 1939 and combined social satire, romance and a crime story to create a gripping and entertaining one-hour evening about self-deception, secret desires and the longing for a new life.