The opera was first performed at Glyndebourne in England on 12 July 1946. It is the first work to which Britten applied his term "chamber opera." The opera debuted in the United States on Broadway at the Ziegfeld Theatre in a production staged by Agnes de Mille which opened on 29 December 1948 and closed on 15 January 1949 after 23 performances. The cast notably included Giorgio Tozzi as Tarquinius, Kitty Carlisle as Lucretia, Lidija Franklin as Bianca, Brenda Lewis as the Female Chorus, and Adelaide Bishop as Lucia.
| Librettist | Ronald Duncan (Ronald Duncan based his English libretto on André Obey's play Le Viol de Lucrèce.) |
| Date of composition | 1946 (23 January - 3 May 1946; revised in 1947) |
| Premiered | 1946, July 12th (Glyndebourne) in Sussex, WI, United States |
| Dedicated to | 'Dedicated to Erwin Stein' |
| Type | Opera |
| Catalogue | BTC 999 |
| Approx. duration | 107 minutes |
| Spoken language | English |
| Instruments |
Voice (Tenor)
- Male Chorus
Voice (Soprano) - Female Chorus Voice (Bass) - Collatinus, a Roman general Voice (Baritone) - Junius, a Roman general Voice (Baritone) - Tarquinius, prince of Rome Voice (Contralto) - Lucretia, wife of Collatinus Voice (Mezzo-Soprano) - Bianca, Lucretia's old nurse Voice (Soprano) - Lucia, a maid |
| Autotranslations beta |
Benjamin Britten: The Rape of Lucretia, BTC 999 Benjamin Britten: The Rape of Lucretia, BTC 999 Benjamin Britten: The Rape of Lucretia, BTC 999 |