The Rape of Lucretia Opera

As the title indicates, The Rape of Lucretia contains scenes of violence, misogyny, sexual assault, and suicide. 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.

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. Tarquinius, the debauched new prince, is leading its forces against a Greek invasion. The man and the woman describe themselves as outside observers—not unlike a Greek chorus—from a later, Christian era.

Act I: Tarquinius, Junius, and Collatinus drinking and enjoying the evening in a military encampment. 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. Calling all women whores, the jealous and bitter Junius goads Tarquinius into testing Lucretia’s virtue. Tarquinius is aroused

by the prospect. He calls for his horse and rides to Rome.

At home, Lucretia is spinning wool along with her servants Bianca and Lucia, and missing her husband. Tarquinius unexpectedly arrives. Despite her uneasiness, Lucretia, as a dutiful wife and citizen, welcomes Tarquinius and offers him hospitality for the night.

Act II: That night, Tarquinius sneaks into Lucretia’s room and watches her sleep. Certain that she desires him as he desires her, he wakes her with a kiss. Lucretia realizes what is happening and begs him to stop. She struggles, but Tarquinius brutally rapes her.

The next morning, Lucretia, withdrawn and distraught, meets Lucia and Bianca. Tarquinius has long since departed. Lucretia sends a messenger to bring her husband Collatinus home. Bianca attempts to stop the messenger, but is too late. Collatinus arrives with Junius, and Lucretia tells them what Tarquinius has done. Collatinus tries to comfort his wife, but she rejects his words and stabs herself. As Collatinus sinks beside his dying wife, Junius uses the death of Lucretia as a symbol to incite the

public to rebellion against Tarquinius. The Female Chorus weeps and searches for meaning in all this suffering and pain. The Male Chorus answers her, with a message of Christian redemption.

CHARACTERS

Lucretia, mezzo-soprano wife of Collatinus

Prince Tarquinius, baritone son of Etruscan tyrant Tarquinius Superbus

Collatinus, bass Roman general

Junius, baritone Roman general

Bianca, mezzo-soprano Lucretia’s nurse

Lucia, soprano Lucretia’s maid

Male chorus, tenor

Female chorus, soprano

THE REVIVALIST OF ENGLISH OPERA

Benjamin Britten is considered the first major British operatic composer since the death of Henry Purcell in 1695, with such popularity both in life and death that his operas are performed more so than any other 20th century composer to date. Born in Lowestoft, Suffolk County on the East Coast of England in 1913, Britten studied music from an early age and attended the Royal College of Music in 1930. In addition to his operatic works, he has a wide range of work scored for film, radio, symphony orchestras and choirs. Britten was not so much influenced by his contemporary English composers such as Ralph Vaughan Williams and Edward Elgar, but rather by Baroque-era Englishmen— Percy Grainger and Henry Purcell, as well as early 20th century composers— Gustav Mahler and Alban Berg (who was a colleague of Schoenberg). Inspired by both Baroque and Atonal influences, Britten’s music is measured and precise in almost a mathematical manner. In addition, he gave particular attention to the capacities of the English language and voice with pared-down orchestrations, influenced by the love of his life and collaborator, singer Peter Pears. He is best known today for his large-scale choral works and dramatic operas.

In 1939, Britten moved to America for a few years to travel as an artistic ambassador from England. He was very influenced by American mythology composing his first opera about the myth of Paul Bunyan, an American lumberjack. It was not well received; however, upon return to England, Britten composed Peter Grimes (1945), based on a poem about an outcast fisherman. His second opera brought him international success, so that he continued to compose opera, completing 14 over his lifetime with characters dealing with themes such as the loss of innocence, individuals at odds with their society, injustice, and salvation. The Rape of Lucretia was his third opera and premiered in 1946.

Britten’s interpretation of this nearly 2500-year-old legend was seen through the lens of post-World War II English society. The libretto was adapted from a French play depicting the story which ran on Broadway in the early 1930s. Remnants of the noble class remained in charge after World War II and still held traditional attitudes towards sex and gender roles. Despite women’s expanding opportunities during wartime (taking over jobs on the Homefront previously done by men), there remained a stigma toward married

women working or receiving higher education. Popular dramas of the era continued to portray women as a foil to a man’s success. Even as Britten was a pacifist during the war and held agnostic beliefs, he was steeped in a resurgence of Christian values and morals. At the same time, WWII loomed large in the collective consciousness as individuals, including Britten, attempted to reconcile their religious faith with such atrocities. Therefore his interpretation of the Lucretia legend, as well as most of his other compositions are framed within the Christian tradition of his upbringing and his country. Critical reception of Lucretia at its premiere was mostly, poor, in part for its Christian overlay, and partly for its small orchestra compared to Peter Grimes.

After The Rape of Lucretia, Britten composed several more operas, notably Albert Herring (1947), Billy Budd (1951), The Turn of the Screw (1954), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1960) and his final opera, Death in Venice (1973). Additionally, Britten wrote many other compositions for chorus and orchestra including his beloved War Requiem (1962). At the end of his life he struggled with a heart condition and passed away in 1976. He was awarded several honorary degrees and additional accolades including, shortly before his death, the designation of Baron by Queen Elizabeth II, thus securing his enduring legacy as reviving English music.

The Librettist Ronald Duncan was an English poet and playwright who adapted the play by Frenchman André Obey into the libretto for the opera The Rape of Lucretia. The precise details of how Britten and Duncan met are unclear, but they were both artists and pacifists during the war. Prior to collaborating on an opera, Britten wrote incidental music to accompany Duncan’s plays, which explored the contrast between religious faith and modern skepticism brought on by WWII.

Government Censorship At the time Britten wrote Lucretia, The Lord Chamberlain was in charge of granting licenses for theatrical performances. One line that detailed Lucretia’s rape explicitly, even suggesting she was complicit, was said to be so inappropriate by the Lord Chamberlain’s standards it was compared to the banned book, Lady Chatterley’s Lover written by D.H. Lawrence—the epitome of obscene writing at the time. Duncan changed the line and added an epilogue, but some scholars suggest that the forced rewrite strengthened the Christian narrative giving the opera a less complex depiction of Lucretia by making her a martyr.

FACT: Studies have estimated, 1 in 5 women are survivors of sexual assault. Yet this is still the most under-reported crime with an estimated 63% going unreported. This means rape and sexual assault is likely much more prevalent. (NSVRC)

WHO TELLS THE STORY?

The story of Lucretia and her rape and subsequent suicide is considered a legend. A legend is an old story passed down through generations that is based in historic events. (As opposed to a myth which is also a story passed down through oral tradition, but is not based in historical events.) Lucretia, her husband Collatinus, and Tarquinius were real people. Yet, because the story is so old, many of the particulars of what actually happened cannot be agreed upon or verified. The story has been used as a cautionary and even a revolutionary story. Many artists have retold or depicted this story through their own frame of reference, coloring it with their own meaning and cultural context thus turning Lucretia herself and the events that transpired into an allegory. Allegory is a story or image that represents hidden political or moral lessons. The story of Lucretia has been retold over the millennia for many reasons, but most often it is used to teach or remind people of a particular moral or political viewpoint.

These allegorical meanings are contingent on the author and the

culture they live. Livy’s original telling of the story in Ab Urbe Condita Libri (History of Rome) focused on Lucretia as a catalyst for political action to transform Rome from a Monarchy to a Republic. Over 400 years later when Rome was Christian, the philosopher St. Augustine retold Lucretia’s story in City of God trying to defend the Christian women that were raped during the Sack of Rome in 410. The Shakespearean poem The Rape of Lucrece places Lucretia in a morality tale as a tragic figure with a bad deed done upon her, focusing on her purity and eventual suffering and death. This tragedy makes Lucretia into a heroic character placing her suffering center stage for the cathartic benefit of the audience. Britten and Duncan’s Christian depiction equates Lucretia to the innocent victims of World War II and offers a way for the broken country to grapple with its moral undoings amongst the affects of the Fascist regimes that rose across Europe. In each retelling—and there are many others—Lucretia is written to have different levels of agency in her rape and varying reasons for her to decision to commit suicide.

Lucretia’s story has been manipulated over the years for political and moral purposes, with details ever-changing, yet it is critical to note that this story has never been told by Lucretia herself. Her trauma has passed through countless hands each rewriting questioning, and usurping her story. We present this opera in 2019, when corrupt regimes still come to power across the Globe, and stories of sexual violence are questioned and manipulated often to the further detriment of the survivor.

FACT: Every 98 seconds someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted. (RAINN)

THE TEST OF TIME

Like a very long game of “telephone,” many artists, philosophers, and storytellers have retold the story of Lucretia over the millennia, and each through their own cultural context. Some depict her story as romantic, others political, some tragic, some moral or a cautionary tale, yet her story continues to be retold century after century. Here are a few of the more notable retellings:

25–8 BC Titus Livy, Roman historian—The earliest known written account

60–6 BC Dionysius of Halicarnassus, writer historian—Greek account

8 AD Ovid, Roman poet—In The Book of Days accounting historical events in Latin

426 AD St. Augustine, philosopher theologian—Provides a Christian moral context

14 th Century Dante, poet—Lucretia appears in Inferno, part of this epic poem Divine Comedy

Late 1300s

Geoffrey Chaucer, English poet—Lucretia appears in several of his works

Late 1500s

William Shakespeare, English poet and playwright— wrote an epic poem of Lucretia’s story, and included allusions to her in several of his plays

1501 Sandro Botticelli, painter—depicting The Tragedy of Lucretia

1607 Thomas Haywood, playwright—wrote a play of The Rape of Lucretia

1645 Artemisia Lomi Gentileschi, painter—depicted the rape scene

1666 Rembrandt, painter—painting depicting Lucretia at the moment of suicide

1769 Joan Ramis, historian—wrote of the tragedy in Catalan

1804 Damià Campeny, sculptor—depicted Lucretia at the moment of death

1931 André Obey, French playwright—wrote a play of The Rape of Lucretia

1945 Benjamin Britten, composer—opera of The Rape of

Lucretia Tarquin and Lucretia by Titian, completed in 1571. Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

99% of perpetrators of sexual violence walk free (RAINN)

WHEN IN ROME

It is widely agreed upon that Lucretia’s death occurred in 508 B.C and thus is the setting for Britten’s opera. Against the backdrop of a tyrannical king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (often known as “Tarquin the Proud”), Lucretia’s death is said to have catalyzed the overthrow of the Roman Monarchy founded nearly 250 years earlier, laying the foundation for the Roman Republic. The Roman king was constantly warring with neighboring tribes and killing members of his own populace, and Lucretia’s rape by the King’s son (Sextus Tarquinius) allowed opponents, namely her husband Collatinus and Junius, to gain momentum and overthrow the monarchy. Though the details of the exact sequence of events leading up to the rape of Lucretia and her subsequent suicide has been reimagined hundreds of times over by numerous writers, playwrights, visual artists, composers, actors, film-makers etc., Lucretia’s story is nearly always a tragic means-to-an-end, for political and social power.

During 6th Century BC, women in Rome held no political power and only wielded influence if they were the daughters of nobility or married to nobility because they were highly valuable property by lineage.

Women were the property of their fathers until they married—for political and social gain and the production of offspring—for which they became property of their husband. That said, women in the upper classes were well educated and expected to take an active role in maintaining their family’s status in society. Roman culture placed an emphasis on the chastity— meaning purity, a characteristic that was retained within a marriage—of women as a measure of her worth: virginity until marriage and sex with only her husband.

This standard was different for men where was common for them to have multiple partners even if they were married—as long as their extra marital relations were with unmarried women (i.e. prostitution, which was accepted and legal) or other young men. Men were measured by their virtue, which corresponded to respect and self-control. The more virtuous a man, the more political and social power he held, but this did not correspond to his fidelity to his wife. Political corruption and tyranny were often attributed to an inability to control oneself sexually.

Since women were property, attitudes towards rape and adultery were

complicated in Ancient Rome. While on the one hand, it was not illegal for a man to “take” another’s wife, as it was more akin to theft or vandalism, for which the man would be reprimanded. On the other, the woman who was raped, like Lucretia, lost all her value to her husband and social standing for her family and her husband would have had the right to kill her if he wished. The Romans associated sexual crimes very strongly with both civil as well as religious deviance, eliciting both legal punishment as well as the belief that it angered and disrespected the gods and would bring misfortune upon those involved.

Eventually once the Roman Republic was formed, legally rape was defined as a crime and the victim was considered innocent as long as she was in good social standing (i.e. not a slave, a prostitute, or entertainer). However, legal and social definitions changed again with the spread of early Christianity in Roman civilization where the victim was also considered complicit as she implicitly tempted her aggressor.

The etymology of the word rape comes from the Latin meaning "to carry away or abduct." Before the meaning of the word came to be exclusively associated with sexual acts, it meant "to seize by force." (Although it was not uncommon for a woman to be literally stolen in order to be taken as a wife without her father’s consent, and with or without hers.) In Ancient Rome, there was a different term referring to a sex crime so that eventually raptus ad stuprum referred specifically to abduction in order to commit a sex crime.

DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR?

Suicide, especially on the operatic stage, is often romanticized as a part of a love story following guilt over adulterous wrongdoing or pain over lost love such as Cio-Cio San in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto, and Senta in Wagner’s Flying Dutchman. In a study of 337 operas spanning 400 years, there was at least one suicide in 74 operas, most often of female characters and all as a direct result of an emotionally devastating event or situation. Feminist critic Catherine Clement in her book, Opera, or the Undoing of Women, states, “Opera … is no different from the other artistic products of our culture; it records a tale of male domination and female oppression. Only it does so more blatantly and, alas, more seductively than any other art form.”

The Ancient Romans believed in the idea of “death before dishonor” or a type of patriotic suicide, especially on the battlefield. This relates to a collective identity that an individual’s actions reflect on the whole of the community, so that to avoid dishonoring the whole community, one would self-sacrifice for the greater good. If Lucretia’s identity and social worth were solely and entirely defined by her chastity—her purity—and her family and community, especially her husband’s and father’s honor depended on it, she sacrificed herself to “save” those she loved and respected.

With the Christian lens that Britten specifically highlights in his opera, Lucretia becomes a martyr—her violation and sacrifice is viewed as redeemed in death. There are even stories from early Christian tradition where women committed suicide to escape rape and remain pure in the eyes of God.

Scholars have argued that by Lucretia taking her own life, she demonstrated agency after her attack—reclaiming her own body and fate. In some versions of her story even, Lucretia calls for revenge to be taken on her behalf. This is a more modern interpretation however, as within Roman culture, Lucretia was the property of her husband and her value was measured solely through her chastity. There is a term used today called secondary victimization, in which a survivor of rape faces not only the residual trauma from act of a violence, but also the blame and social stigma. It is with this modern understanding that we can begin to understand why Lucretia made the choice to take her own life as she found herself weighted not only by her own trauma, but also through the social context of her time.

The legend of Lucretia ends with Junius using Lucretia’s corpse as a public example of the tyrannical actions of Tarquinius, thus publicizing her private story for political gain that was said to incite war against the Roman monarchy overthrowing the king and

establishing a Republic. Therefore the story is told so that what happens to Lucretia becomes merely a means to an end, a catalyst that turned the tide of war and changed history.

Each interpretation of Lucretia’s story ripples out into society and becomes disassociated from one woman’s deeply personal trauma. From cautionary tale, to allegory the story shifts so that Lucretia herself does not matter, rather it is us—society, the audience, the chorus, who are affected. While the Romans used Lucretia’s story for political gain, Christians used her story as a morality tale, and other more modern scholars analyze the particulars of her story for social commentary—to explain our human nature within a particular cultural context, either historical or contemporary.

FACT: Thoughts of suicide are commonly reported after rape. 33% of women who are raped contemplate suicide and 13% have attempted suicide. (NSVRC)

A WOMAN’S STORY

Although the legend of Lucretia has had countless retellings, and all of them by men, this does not mean that women have not had a prominent role in interpreting the story presented to audiences, most prominently through the singers who perform the lead role as well as the

directors mounting of the piece.

The Rape of Lucretia was first performed at Glyndenbourne Opera House in England in 1946. English contralto Kathleen Ferrier, an internationally famous recording artist made her stage debut originating the role of Lucretia after Britten heard her perform Handel’s Messiah at Westminster Abbey. It is widely regarded that Britten composed The Rape of Lucretia with Ferrier in mind. Though the production was not met with favorable reviews, Ferrier’s performance was celebrated, it propelled her career forward, and she was remembered in part as it was one of only a few staged opera

The United States debut of The Rape of Lucretia took place at the Ziegfeld Theatre on Broadway in 1948. Famed American choreographer Agnes de Mille directed the production. De Mille had choreographed multiple Broadway musical productions by this point including Carousel (1945) and Brigadoon (1947) and she was lifelong friends with Martha

Graham, the mother of modern dance. De Mille received strong reviews for her fluid and sensitive treatment to the staging, even as Britten and Duncan’s work was criticized. It is not uncommon for choreographers to take on the directorial role for an opera, especially with throughcomposed work where the music doesn’t pause, as the stage action then becomes highly choreographed movement in time with the music. Boston Lyric Opera’s world premiere of Tod Machover’s Schoenberg in Hollywood (2018) was directed by choreographer Karole Armitage.

BLO’s production of The Rape of Lucretia is directed by Sarna Lapine, who also has had an illustrious career as a Broadway director working on shows including The Light in the Piazza (2005) and Sunday in the Park with George (2016). Directors have a responsibility to Lucretia’s story as their staging decisions affect how the audience interprets the story. For example, Lapine chose to remove the intermission that normally takes place after the rape scene. Although The Rape of Lucretia was composed by two men based on other previous versions by men, it is important to recognize the female directors who have reclaimed this narrative and notice how they interpret the story. Our production will also not be performed in a traditional theater space, rather a modern gallery space at the Artists For Humanity EpiCenter—an arts organization whose mission strives to create social change. Our scenic designer, Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams, has designed an immersive setting in the gallery space so that she, Sarna Lapine, and the rest of the creative team will guide audiences to experience this ancient legend and twentieth century opera with the consciousness of today.

Playbill released a study of 30 new productions announced for the 2016 Broadway season and only six had female directors attached to them. Although men still dominate the creative leadership in the performing arts, this is slowly beginning to change. All four of Boston Lyric Opera’s productions this Season are directed by women (although they were all composed by men).

FACT: Female college students ages 18-24 are three times more likely than women in the general population to experience sexual violence. (RAINN)

WHY NOW?

With each retelling of Lucretia, artists interpret the story through their own cultural context in present time, even as the work may still be set in Ancient Rome. This is our human nature—to tell stories, old and new, in order to make meaning of our lives and our world. By producing The Rape of Lucretia today, Boston Lyric Opera, is engaging in the current dialogue surrounding violence against women, sexual assault, and suicide that the 2,500-year-old example of Lucretia depicts.

Rape and sexual violence is still pervasive occurring in every country of the world and across race, gender, and social class. In the United States, we are currently making sense of the increasingly publicly expressed collective consciousness of the #MeToo movement, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony, accusations against R. Kelly, Harvey Weinstein, and leaders in the Catholic Church, Title IX rollbacks, and our president’s remarks. Even as survivors feel empowered and compelled to speak out more and more, we still acknowledge the backlog of rape kits yet to be processed, perpetrators who escape accountability, and a deeply-seated cultural history of casting blame and disbelief onto survivors—one that dates back as far as the ancient western civilizations that originated the Lucretia legend.

Artists and arts organizations, as custodians of culture, are responding to a sense of social responsibility to engage in the pressing social dialogue of our time. The arts engage with challenging questions and present a point of view, which may provoke strong emotion, critique, and dialogue. Artists make meaning of the world around them and tell compelling stories. Audiences engage with the arts for many reasons, including to make meaning of their own worldview, to find common ground in others stories, or for catharsis.

Popular recording artists like Lady Gaga have used their art to stand in solidarity with survivors of sexual violence and bring awareness to the more intimate emotions through the power of music. Other artists’ careers, like singer-songwriter MLCK, have been launched from honestly engaging with the subject and finding an audience who seek catharsis and community through music. Even in opera, companies across the world are questioning how old narratives may be revisited to shed light on challenging issues in new ways, as well as presenting new works that open the dialogue further.

For The Rape of Lucretia, and our final opera of the season, The Handmaid’s Tale, Boston Lyric Opera has partnered with two local organizations: Boston Area Rape Crisis Center and Casa Myrna.

These organizations offer medical, legal, and social resources and support to survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, as well as a variety of prevention and outreach programs aimed at educating youth and adults. BLO acknowledges that while we bring up these sensitive issues through the presentation of our operas, we are not the experts in them. Therefore, the partnership with BARCC and Casa Myrna brings awareness, training, and support as we present, rehearse, and perform the work, as well as engage our audiences in these issues and challenging conversations. What happened to Lucretia 2,500 years ago is still happening today.

FACT: Over 100,000 rape kits are backlogged in the United States— Boston does not have a backlog though! (Endthebacklog.org)

Big or Little Britten wrote The Rape of Lucretia as a chamber opera. Listen to a selection from the opera Peter Grimes he wrote just before, which was for full orchestra and compare with the ensemble for Lucretia. How does the orchestration influence the story-telling?

Dramatic Intent Listen to these two different dramatic moments in The Rape of Lucretia and compare and contrast them:

• Here Tarquinius is watching Lucretia sleep in the moment before he wakes her. The music is melodic and beautiful, but with an underlying foreboding : Act 2, Scene 1: Within this frail crucible of light

• Once Lucretia is awakened the action speeds up and the music changes: Act 2, Scene 1: Lucretia…What do you want?

Christian Influence As part of Britten’s Christian perspective on the Lucretia legend, Britten has two chorus, one man and one woman, commenting on and observing the action as bystanders. They explain their role in a hymn-like manner at the end of this selection:

Act 1, Scene 1: It is an axiom among kings

Britten’s Influence Britten also wrote symphony for young people to teach about music. It was featured in the beginning of Wes Anderson’s film, Moonrise Kingdom (2012). It also showcases the influence Henry Purcell had on his composing style.

GENERAL QUESTIONS TO GUIDE YOUR LISTENING

• What instruments are playing?

• How fast is the music? Are there sudden changes in speed? Is the rhythm steady or unsteady?

• Key/Mode: Is it major or minor? (Does it sound bright, happy, sad, urgent, dangerous?)

• Dynamics/Volume: Is the music loud or soft? Are there sudden changes in volume (either in the voice or orchestra)?

• What is the shape of the melodic line? Does the voice move smoothly or does it make frequent or erratic jumps? Do the vocal lines move noticeably downward or upward?

• Does the type of voice singing (baritone, soprano, tenor, mezzo, etc.) have an effect on you as a listener?

• Do the melodies end as you would expect or do they surprise you?

• How does the music make you feel? What effect do the above factors have on you as a listener?

• What is the orchestra doing in contrast to the voice? How do they interact?

• What kinds of images, settings, or emotions come to mind? Does it remind you of anything you have experienced in your own life?

• Do particularly emphatic notes (low, high, held, etc.) correspond to dramatic moments?

• What type of character fits this music? Romantic? Comic? Serious? Etc.