Britten: The Rape of Lucretia

One of Benjamin Britten's darkest works, The Rape of Lucretia draws its characters from Ancient Rome but explores themes and anxieties that are timeless: loyalty and trust, sin, betrayal and violation. Fiona Shaw's acclaimed 2015 Glyndebourne production was the first time the chamber opera had been staged at the Festival since its world premiere there in 1946. Starkly pared back, Shaw's powerful staging leaves ample space for the superb cast of British singers – led by Christine Rice in a harrowing performance as Lucretia – to explore the work's harshly etched emotional world. In the pit, Leo Hussain conducts members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance that was widely praised by critics.