Gian Carlo Menotti’s sparkling one-act radio opera The Old Maid and The Thief, forms the centrepiece of an evening of American music curated by musicians of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire under the baton of Tom Hawkey-Soar, a conductor who has deep musical roots in Mayfield. Written as the first Opera specifically for radio in 1939, this witty tale of small-town intrigue, gossip and deception is paired with Barber’s radiant Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Gershwin’s Three Preludes for Piano and more to complete an evening of trans-atlantic mid-century elegance and charm.

Programme:

Knoxville: Summer of 1915 - Samuel Barber

Soprano: Rose Johnson

8 Poems of Emily Dickenson - Aaron Copland

III. The World Feels Dusty

VII. Going To Heaven

VIII. The Chariot

Soprano: Phoebe Curcher

Three Preludes For Piano - George Gershwin

Piano: Alex Wyatt

Interval

The Old Maid And The Thief - Gian Carlo Menotti

Miss Todd - Rose Johnson

Laetitia - Phoebe Curcher

Bob - William Swinnerton

Miss Pinkerton - Millie Royle

Announcer - Sebastian Sgouraditis

Musicians from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

Conductor - Tom Hawkey-Soar

Director - Hannah Devereux

Piano - Alex Wyatt

Tickets and more information below