About the work
Chamber opera in two acts by Benjamin Britten to a libretto by Ronald Duncan, based on André Obey's play 'Le Viol de Lucrèce'; composed between January and May 1946 specifically for the contralto Kathleen Ferrier and first performed on 12 July 1946 at Glyndebourne Opera House.
Plot
In Etruscan-ruled Rome, the generals Tarquinius and Collatinus wager on their wives' fidelity. Tarquinius rides to Rome to test Collatinus's wife Lucretia, talks his way into her house and rapes her when she resists his seduction. Overcome with shame, Lucretia confesses to her husband and takes her own life; a chorus reinterprets the ancient events afterwards as a sign pointing toward redemption through Christ.
Cultural significance
With only eight singers and thirteen instrumentalists, the work launched Britten's series of chamber operas and marked a deliberate counter-model to the large-scale 'Peter Grimes'. Because of a line deemed too risqué, the Lord Chamberlain's Office demanded cuts before the premiere; the closing passacaglia is dedicated to the memory of Henry Purcell.