The Rape of Lucretia

According to Roman tradition, Lucretia, who died in 510 BC, was a noblewoman in ancient Rome whose rape by Sextus Tarquinius, an Etruscan king's son, was the cause of a rebellion that overthrew the Roman monarchy and led to the transition of a kingdom to a republic. Britten takes this ancient tale and transforms it into a dramatic work of hubris and great human suffering, narrated by two compassionate storytellers, male and female. The work is one of Britten's most intimate and moving works and is a masterpiece of the chamber opera genre.