Lucretia, mezzo-soprano wife of Collatinus The Male Chorus answers her, with a message of Christian redemption. The Female Chorus weeps and searches for meaning in all this suffering and pain. As Collatinus sinks beside his dying wife, Junius uses the death of Lucretia as a symbol to incite the Collatinus tries to comfort his wife, but she rejects his words and stabs herself. Collatinus arrives with Junius, and Lucretia tells them what Tarquinius has done. Bianca attempts to stop the messenger, but is too late. Lucretia sends a messenger to bring her husband Collatinus home. The next morning, Lucretia, withdrawn and distraught, meets Lucia and Bianca. She struggles, but Tarquinius brutally rapes her. Lucretia realizes what is happening and begs him to stop. Certain that she desires him as he desires her, he wakes her with a kiss. Despite her uneasiness, Lucretia, as a dutiful wife and citizen, welcomes Tarquinius and offers him hospitality for the night.Īct II: That night, Tarquinius sneaks into Lucretia’s room and watches her sleep. He calls for his horse and rides to Rome.Īt home, Lucretia is spinning wool along with her servants Bianca and Lucia, and missing her husband. Calling all women whores, the jealous and bitter Junius goads Tarquinius into testing Lucretia’s virtue. The previous night, as a test, a group of generals had ridden home to Rome and found their wives engaged in infidelity-all except the faithful Lucretia, wife of Collatinus. The man and the woman describe themselves as outside observers-not unlike a Greek chorus-from a later, Christian era.Īct I: Tarquinius, Junius, and Collatinus drinking and enjoying the evening in a military encampment. Tarquinius, the debauched new prince, is leading its forces against a Greek invasion. Prologue: A man and a woman explain the situation in Rome: the city has been seized by a foreign power and is ruled by fear and terror. In order to help you best prepare for the opera, please note that this study guide describes plot details and events and discusses subject matter that may be sensitive to some. The Christian perspective at end of the opera is difficult and raises all sorts of questions, not least of which is if Tarquinius is forgiven, where does this leave Lucretia? In the final bars, Furness has the padre break open a holy phial and anoint the medic, taking water from the basin and pouring it over her head, which he held back by the hair in an uncomfortable and shockingly tight grasp.Ī tale of rape is never going to be a comfortable night at the opera, but the effect of the ancient story on the male and female chorus had us in deep discussion on the journey home.As the title indicates, The Rape of Lucretia contains scenes of violence, misogyny, sexual assault, and suicide. The production’s take on the chorus was fascinating: the padre oversteps his counselling role making occasional tentative advances on the medic throughout, which she repels, but the balance of physical interaction sees the man dominate the woman. Musicians and singers created a tight-knit ensemble with some heartbreakingly beautiful moments, the dense libretto mostly clear. In the pit, conductor Lionel Friend drew a first-rate performance from his band, the exposed players getting to grips with the delicate nuances so important in this work, building tension with minute attention to detail. Oskar McCarthy’s plotting Junius, MacArthur Alewel’s resonant bass as a fiery Collatinus and the huge menacing figure of splendid baritone Joylon Loy’s Tarquinius made a formidable ensemble. Roman soldier Junius sees political advantage, suggesting to the obsessed Etruscan Tarquinius that “Virtue in women is a lack of opportunity”, setting Tarquinius off on his city escapade, swimming the filthy Tiber. Physically shattered by her military role and deeply conflicted by issues of religion and duty, her clear robust soprano added depth and an inner strength to the character.Ī trio of off-duty soldiers camped outside Rome hear rumours about their wives in the city being unfaithful with husbands away fighting the cause, except Collatinus’ wife Lucretia who remains virtuous. Horgan’s silvery tenor breathed a padre’s wise council, but it was the more disturbed Richardson’s performance that drew the attention. Robin Horgan and Charlotte Richardson were our excellent guides to the scene in Rome, almost Shakespearean commentators, detached from the action at first but eventually overwhelmed by the powerful story.
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