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The Rape of Lucretia

  Opera by Benjamin Britten to libretto by Ronald Duncan

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DATES

Saturday April 18 19:15

Sunday April 19 16:00

Wednesday April 22 19:15

Thursday April 23 19:15

Saturday April 25 19:15

Sunday April 26 16:00

VENUE

JACKSON’S LANE THEATRE, N6

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Off West End Assessors’ choice  for 2026 nominations

At the camp, soldiers grow restless, eager for the war to begin. At home, their families wait anxiously, longing for it to end. Then, in a single night, an act of violence changes everything…
 
HGO presents Benjamin Britten’s gripping and emotional The Rape of Lucretia, an unflinching examination of the darkest recesses of human nature. Composed in the shadow of the Second World War, it confronts sexual violence and the abuse of power, tracing tragic consequences that ripple through lives and communities. Scored for eight voices and chamber ensemble, its haunting beauty is intensely intimate.
 
Following their award-winning production for HGO of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Eugene Onegin’ (2024), directors Eleanor Burke and Alex Gotch reunite with conductor Oliver Cope for a gripping new staging of Britten’s first chamber opera, with a sparkling cast of young singers.
 

Our special thanks go to:

  • The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust
  • The Arts Society Greater London Area
  • The Fidelio Charitable Trust
  • Friends of HGO
  • Supporters of the HGO Singers Fund
  • The Thompson Educational Trust
  • The Thriplow Charitable Trust
  • David Ure

for their support for this production.

 

Our thanks also for assistance to Joss Bundy and the Royal Academy of Music. 

 

Performances of the ‘The Rape of Lucretia’ are given by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Limited.  

 

CAST

PERFORMANCES 18-26 APRIL

FEMALE CHORUS

Olivia Rose Tringham

cover – Jessica Lawley

Male Chorus

Daniel Gray Bell

cover – Samuel Horton

Lucretia

Emma Roberts

cover – Abbie Ward

Tarquinius

Stephen Whitford

cover – Oliver Heuzenroeder

COLLATINUS

Oleksii Zasiadko

cover – Chris Murphy

JUNIUS

Maximilian Catalano

cover – Ted Day

BIANCA

Mia Serracino

cover – Lucy Thalange

LUCIA

Nikki Martin

cover – Ellen Mawhinney

PRODUCTION

STAGE Directors

Eleanor Burke and Alex Gotch

Music director

Oliver Cope

Set/costume designer

Jennifer Gregory

Lighting designer

Cheng Keng

Asst. Stage Director

Katie Blackwell

Stage Manager

Alexandra Brown

Asst. Stage Manager

Charlie Tiernan

Production Manager

Ida Pontopiddan

Assistant conductor

Kentaro Machida

Repetiteur

Lucy Colquhoun

ORCHESTRA

Violins                           Will Clark, Calyssa Davidson   

Viola                             Cameron Howe      Cello                             Thomas Vidal     

Double-bass              Danny Cleave          Flute/Piccolo              Chris Michie         

Oboe/Cor Anglais     Alex Franklin            Clarinet                        George Blakesley   

Bassoon                       Hugh Woolley         Horn                              Alice Knight

Harp                              Aisha Palmer           Percussion                   Max Heaton

 

 

Solace Women’s Aid is the largest domestic abuse and sexual violence charity in London, supporting thousands of women and children each year. Visit their website here to find out more about their work and how you can support them.   

REVIEWS

⭐⭐⭐⭐ “assured musical direction… Emma Roberts as Lucretia is exceptional… a uniformly committed ensemble… The voices and the chamber orchestra fill the church acoustics with something close to beauty, which is precisely as it should be”

Sonny Waheed, The Reviews Hub

“The rich vocals from mezzo soprano Roberts (Lucretia) filled the auditorium with the most amazing sound… Stephen Whitford (Tarquinius)’s baritone voice matched the intensity of his performance… superb performance from the 12-piece orchestra conducted by Oliver Cope…”

Fiona Gilbert, LondonTheatre1

“illuminating characterization… Olivia Rose Tringham a highly dramatic and forceful Female Chorus with a bright and clear top line… Daniel Gray Bell (Male Chorus) with a lyrical tenor line… Nikki Nartin’s Lucia and Mia Serracino’s Bianca come into their own in Act 2…”

Alexander Hall, Opera Today

“…another triumph for HGO: excellent in every respect. Perhaps first and foremost, given the nature of the enterprise, every member of the cast shone vocally and dramatically, whether individually or as part of an ensemble both tightknit and protean.” 

Mark Berry,  Seen and Heard International/The Boulezian

⭐⭐⭐⭐“The directing, singing and acting throughout was faultless and a credit to the high ambition of HGO… the fabulous thirteen-piece orchestra, led by Oliver Cope… the outstanding Olivia Rose Tringham as Female Chorus… Lucretia, played by the magnificent Emma Roberts… Tarquinius (a forensic portrayal of a predator by Stephen Whitford)”

David Winskill, Hampstead and Highgate Gazette

⭐⭐⭐⭐“Emma Roberts as Lucretia is a phenomenon… the vocal writing is served with particular care… a living wound of a production which is and will continue to be beautiful and interesting because it’s strange and difficult.”

Soyoon Koo, Plays To See

“gripping… Emma Roberts’s Lucretia sings her Epitaph aria with a warm, plush mezzo and plays the character with composed dignity…  Daniel Gray Bell (Male Chorus) with his incisive diction, marking him out as a natural Britten tenor… the excellent Mia Serracino and the radiant Nikki Martin as Lucretia’s handmaidens… Conductor Oliver Cope’s  masterly handing of Britten’s spare, atmospheric textures underlined the production’s vivid immediacy.“

Hugh Canning, Operalogue

PRODUCTION IMAGES (images © Laurent Compagnon)

VIDEOS