(2/7) As part of FCC’s Music Program Artist Series, Odyssey Opera Theatre will perform the first opera written specifically for radio, Gian Carlo Menotti’s "The Old Maid and The Thief," at 3 p.m. on February 16 in the Jack B. Kussmaul Theater. Admission is free.
"Odyssey Opera Theatre is pleased to present ‘The Old Maid and The Thief’ as Menotti originally intended—a radio opera, complete with sound effects, performed before a live studio audience ‘On Air’ on NBC Radio," said Mary Gresock, artistic director and soprano cast member. "The opera is part of a 1943 radio show reminiscent of the 1940s
"Treasure Star Parade."
"In addition to the opera, the audience is treated to popular music of the period—most particularly the Andrews Sisters," she added.
The 1939 opera commissioned by the NBC Radio Network centers on a case of mistaken identity in a small American town. A local woman named Miss Todd, and her maid, Laetitia, compete for the affections of a drifter named Bob. Soon after, the women learn from a neighborhood busybody that a notorious thief, assumed to be Bob, has escaped from jail.
Complications arise when Miss Todd resorts to thievery herself in order to retain Bob’s company.
Frederick audiences will recognize cast members Aurelius Gori (Robert Gold/Bob) and Grace Gori (Bernice Banks/Miss Todd.).
This production is made possible in part through support from such generous community sponsors, including the George L. Shields Music Program Development Fund at FCC and FCC’s Communications, Humanities and Arts Department. The acquisition of the Bösendorfer Imperial Grand used in the performance was made possible by generous gifts from Mr.
and Mrs. Holmes R. Baker, the Randall Charitable Trust Donor Advised Fund, Mr. Nevin Baker and Ms. Albertine Hodgson Baker, the Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Nicodemus Family Fund, and other generous donors.
For tickets and further information about "The Old Maid and the Thief," call 301-846-2608.
