By Benjamin Britten
Robert DeSimone, director
Kelly Kuo, conductor
New Music Ensemble, pit orchestra
As recorded by the likes of Ovid and Livy, Lucretia was raped by Tarquinius Sextus, son of the Etruscan King of Rome. Her consequent suicide incited a revolution that toppled the monarchy and ultimately gave rise to the Roman Republic. Debuted in 1946, The Rape of Lucretia is a haunting and deeply human tale draped in gilded history.