La gazza ladra

The Plot

La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie) is a melodrama or opera semiseria in two acts based on La pie voleuse by Théodore Baudouin d'Aubigny and Louis-Charles Caigniez.
The opera is mainly known for its overture, which features the use of snare drums. The story revolves around Ninetta, a servant girl who is falsely accused of stealing a silver spoon from her employer, Fabrizio. She is sentenced to death, but the real thief is revealed to be a magpie who has been stealing shiny objects.
Ninetta is saved at the last moment and reunited with her lover, Giannetto, Fabrizio's son.