Where else can you eat popcorn while watching opera?" Michael Guptill, Hackmatack Playhouse's executive producer, said with a laugh Friday night.

The Boston-based chamber opera group Intermezzo was at Berwick's barn playhouse for a two-night performance of Gian Carlo Menotti's comedic opera "The Old Maid and the Thief." And, those in attendance wouldn't have traded Hackmatack's rustic barn, popcorn, homemade blueberry pie and cleverly crafted candy treats for the grandest of opera houses.

It was Intermezzo's third year performing at Hackmatack Playhouse. The tradition began on Labor Day weekend 2004 with two sucessful performances of Charles Shadle's "A Question of Love" and Leonard Bernstein's "Trouble in Tahiti." The group returned last year with acclaimed performances of Men- otti's "The Medium" and "The Telephone." This year Inter- mezzo decided to do something a little different.

"The Old Maid and the Thief" originally aired on NBC radio April 22, 1939. It was the first opera written exclusively for radio. The Philadelphia Opera Company brought it to the stage on Feb. 11, 1941.

Since then, the opera has typically been performed in play format with full sets. Intermezzo paid tribute to the opera's roots with a re-creation of the radio broadcast, complete with applause and on-air signs, a sound-effects man (Domenico Mastrototaro) and a radio announcer, played by Intermezzo's founder and artistic director, John Whittlesey. His buttery baritone was perfect for the part.

"The Old Maid and the Thief" employs the 18th-century opera buffa method, depicting common people with everyday problems. It's the story of Bob (Harry Baechtel), a handsome wanderer, who becomes the house guest of Miss Todd (Sharon Brown), an elderly maid, and her young housekeeper Laetitia (Kristen Watson). Both ladies quickly become enamored with him.

When a neighbor, Miss Pinkerton (Marilyn Bulli), reports that a thief has escaped from prison, Miss Todd and Laetitia suspect it is Bob. All hell breaks loose, spawning the infamous line, "The devil couldn't do what a woman can - make a thief out of an honest man."

The tale would have been amusing on its own, but Intermezzo made it all the more funny by topping off the plot with delightful behind-the-scenes drama. The subplots included a love triangle between Baechtel, Watson and Bulli and an antagonism between Whittlesey and Mastro- totaro. All, of course, were just part of the act.

The four opera singers, backed by pianist Stephen Yenger, delivered stunning vocals with a crystal-clear soprano from Watson, an expressive soprano from Bulli, a rich mezzo-soprano from Brown and a sensuous baritone from Baechtel. Their vocals were complemented by wonderfully over-the-top facial expressions, straight from the days of silent films. Mastrototaro kept the audience amused from the side of the stage with comic antics and old-fashioned sound effects.

Intermezzo's performance of "The Old Maid and the Thief" was a feast for the eyes and ears.

The group plans to return to Hackmatack next year for another Labor Day weekend of opera at the barn. In the meantime, check out its Web site at www.intermezzo-opera.org.

April Boyle is a freelance writer from Casco. She can be contacted at:

aprilhboyle@yahoo.com.

Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.