The Medium by Gian Carlo Menotti is a two-act opera that explores themes of deception, fear, and the supernatural. The story centers around the often-inebriated Madame Flora, also called Baba, a fraudulent medium who pretends to communicate with the spirits of the dead. Exploiting the gullible nature of her grieving clients to make a living, she operates out of her home's parlor with the help of her daughter, Monica, and a mute servant, Toby.

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As the opera unfolds, Madame Flora performs a séance, and during the session, a strange and shocking event occurs that seems to suggest the presence of a real spirit. The tension builds as Madame Flora, driven by her growing fear and paranoia, mistakenly believes that Toby is the "spirit" haunting her. Enraged, she kicks him out of the house and drunkenly falls asleep. Waking up to a sudden sound, she sees the curtains in the parlour moving as if something were behind them. Mad with hysteria and determined to "kill" the ghost, she grabs her revolver and shoots. Toby, who had snuck back into the house to be with Monica, tragically falls to the ground dead.