road. In addition to the original radio broadcast, the opera has been recorded twice on record: an LP from 1970 starring Judith Blegen and a more recent recording on CD from Dallas, Texas in February 2007. The arias are excerpted and available in the Soprano volume of G. Schirmer's American Arias and the Baritone Volume of G. Schirmer's American Arias. Performance history The Old Maid and the Thief was premiered on NBC Radio on April 22, 1939 with Alberto Erede conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra for the closing of the orchestra's 1938-1939 season. The opera was first staged in a slightly revised version by the Philadelphia Opera Company at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia on February 11, 1941 in a double bill with the United States premiere of Emil von Reznicek's Spiel oder Ernst?. The New York Philharmonic chose to program portions of the opera in 1942 with conductor Fritz Busch leading the ensemble. The first staged production in New York was presented by the New York City Opera in April 1948 in a double bill with Amelia Goes to the Ball, both operas directed by the composer, with Marie Powers as Miss Todd, Virginia MacWatters as Laetitia, Ellen Faull as Miss Pinkerton, and Norman Young as Bob. Other early stagings of the opera were given by the New England Opera Theater in Boston (1947), the Fort Worth Opera (1947), and the Chautauqua Opera (1951). The opera was first staged in Europe at the National Theatre Mannheim in February 1947 using a German language translation by Maria Pinazzi. It was subsequently mounted by the Staatstheater Darmstadt (1951) and the Teatro Regio di Parma (1966) among other opera companies. More recently the opera was performed at London's Arcola Theatre as part of the 2008 Grimeborn Festival. This opera is popular in the United States for colleges and workshop productions due to its English libretto, untaxing roles (since it is only in one act), and high musical value. The story and humor appeal to the modern American audience. Roles Synopsis This one-act opera, divided into 14 scenes, is about an old maid, Miss Todd, who is a busybody in her small town. Though she is of high standing in her community, her love life has been bare for over forty years. Her housemaid Laetitia is a young, catty eavesdropper who is wary of becoming an Old Maid like her employer. Bob,