Podcast: The Rape of Lucretia

For Britten’s centenary year, Fiona Shaw directs a new production of The Rape of Lucretia, which had its first performance at Glyndebourne in 1946. In this podcast, presenter Peggy Reynolds shares some of the recollections of the original production’s star – the great mezzo Kathleen Ferrier – and the creative team who brought Britten’s work to the stage. Glyndebourne’s dramaturg Cori Ellison, considers the place of The Rape of Lucretia within Britten’s canon of works, as the first of his ‘chamber operas’, and explores the source material for Ronald Duncan’s libretto. The conductor, Nicholas Collon, reflects on the historical moment Lucretia was born out of and celebrates Britten’s extraordinary vocal and orchestral writing. And Fiona Shaw unfolds the layers of the opera, telling Lucretia’s story and considering the work’s ongoing significance.