The Rape of Lucretia/ The Elixir of Love

English Touring Opera, Theatre Royal Bath

- by Gerry Parker

LIKE absinthe, the highly alcoholic spirit so beloved by writers and artist, among them Ernest Hemmingway and Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Benjamin Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia is full of powerful content.

And like the spirit you can easily become addicted to the distinctive taste of Britten’s score, or rebel against it and dismiss it out of hand. Since its 1946 premiere at Glyndebourne, with a stellar cast including Kathleen Ferrier, Joan Cross, Peter Pears, Owen Brannigan and Otakar Kraus, it has gathered many detractors and a strong fanbase who consider it to be an outstanding example of Britten’s ability to musically explore the moral and social relationships between the sexes, which is still relevant in today’s society.