- Benjamin Britten. Opera in two acts. 1946.
- Libretto by Ronald Duncan, after the play Le viol de Lucrfèce of André Obey.
- First performance at Glyndebourne on 12th July 1946.
CHARACTERS
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| Male Chorus | tenor |
| Female Chorus | mezzo-soprano |
| Collatinus | bass |
| Junius | baritone |
| Tarquinius | baritone |
| Lucretia | contralto |
| Bianca | mezzo-soprano |
| Lucia | soprano |
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The male and female chorus lament the state of Rome under the Etruscan upstart Tarquinius. At
an army camp outside Rome Collatinus, Junius and Tarquinius drink and discuss the trustworthiness
of women, and it seems that Lucretia alone, wife of Collatinus, is of perfect virtue. This is seen as
a challenge by Tarquinius, who rides to Rome, eager to test Lucretia's virtue. There he is received
as a guest into her house and escorted to his chamber. As Lucretia sleeps, Tarquinius approaches
and violates her chastity. The morning dawns brightly, but Lucretia sends now for her husband and
kills herself in his presence. The male and female chorus point the Christian moral and message of
hope.
Based on the play by André Obey and on Shakespeare, Livy, Nathaniel Lee, Thomas Heywood
and F. Ponsard, The Rape of Lucretia places the story of Lucretia, a martyr to chastity, in a Christian
setting, to which the male and female chorus draw attention. The work was written for Glyndebourne
and followed the success of Peter Grimes in 1945. It marks the beginning of Britten's interest in
chamber opera, to be followed by Albert Herring, staged at Glyndebourne in the following season.
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