Britten - The Rape of Lucretia (Clayton, Huckle, Glyndebourne, Collon) (320kbps .mp3)

The Rape of Lucretia from Glyndebourne, in Fiona Shaw's production, with Claudia Huckle in the title role and Kate Valentine and Allan Clayton as the Chorus. Nicolas Collon conducts.

Premiered at Glyndebourne in 1946, Britten's chamber opera is an extraordinary and tightly focused treatment of a legend, which has acquired numerous layers in painting, poetry and drama.

Lucretia is raped by the tyrant Tarquinius Superbus, ruler of Rome, and chooses to kill herself rather than live with the shame. The action of the opera is commented on throughout by a Male and Female Chorus who occupy another dimension, at times narrating the story and at times voicing the thoughts of the different characters.

01. Britten - The Rape of Lucretia, Act I
01a. Introduction to The Rape of Lucretia
02. Britten - The Rape of Lucretia, Act II
02a. Commentary after Act I


Male Chorus ..... Allan Clayton (tenor)
Lucretia ..... Claudia Huckle (mezzo-soprano)
Female Chorus ..... Kate Valentine (soprano)
Collatinus ..... David Soar (bass)
Junius ..... Oliver Dunn (baritone)
Tarquinius ..... Duncan Rock (baritone)
Bianca ..... Catherine Wyn-Rogers (mezzo-soprano)
Lucia ..... Ellie Laugharne (soprano)
The Glyndebourne Tour Orchestra
Nicholas Collon (conductor).