The Rape of Lucretia (Op. 37) is an opera in two acts by Benjamin Britten, written for Kathleen Ferrier, who performed the title role. Ronald Duncan based his English libretto after André Obey's play Le Viol de Lucrèce. The opera was first performed at Glyndebourne in England on July 12, 1946. It is the first work to which Britten applied his term "chamber opera." The opera was first performed in the United States on Broadway at the Ziegfeld Thea...
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The Rape of Lucretia (Op. 37) is an opera in two acts by Benjamin Britten, written for Kathleen Ferrier, who performed the title role. Ronald Duncan based his English libretto after André Obey's play Le Viol de Lucrèce. The opera was first performed at Glyndebourne in England on July 12, 1946. It is the first work to which Britten applied his term "chamber opera." The opera was first performed in the United States on Broadway at the Ziegfeld Theatre in a production staged by Agnes de Mille which opened on 29 December 1948 and closed on 15 January 1949 after 23 performances. The cast notably included Giorgio Tozzi as Tarquinius, Kitty Carlisle as Lucretia, Lidija Franklin as Bianca, and Adelaide Bishop as Lucia.
The Male and Female Choruses explain the situation in Rome: ruled by the foreigner Tarquinius Superbus and fighting off a Greek invasion, the city has sunk into depravity. The two choruses describe their own role as Christian interpreters of the pagan story about to begin....
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