Utwory na płycie:

• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Male Chrous- Roe is now ruled by the Etruscan upstart -
• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Male Chorus- Here the thirsty evening has drunk the wine of light -
• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Collatinus- Who reaches heaven first is the best philosopher -
• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Male Chorus- Oh- my God- with what agility does jealousy jump into a small heart -
• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Male Chorus- Tarquinius does not wait when Tarquinius does not desire -
• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Male Chorus- Tarquinius does not wait for his servant to wake -
• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Female Chorus- The spinning wheel unwinds dreams which desire has spun -
• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Lucretia- Listen! I heard a knock Somebody is at the gate -
• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Female Chorus- Time turns upon the hands of women -
• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Female Chorus- None of the women move It is too late for a messenger -
• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Female Chorus- The prosperity of the Etruscans was due to the richness of their native soil -
• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Female Chorus- She sleeps as a rose upon the night
• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Male Chorus- When Tarquinius desires- then Tarquinius will dare
• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Tarquinius- Within this frail crucible of light -
• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Tarquinius- Lucretia! -
• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Female & Male Chorus- Here in this scene you see Virtue assailed by sin -
• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Lucia- O what a lovely day -
• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Bianca- Hush! Here she comes!-
• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Lucretia- Flowers bring to evry year the same perfection -
• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Collatinus- Lucretia! Lucretia! O never again must we two dare to part -
• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Lucretia- Last night Tarquinius ravished me and tore the fabric of our love -
• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Collatinus- This dead hand lets fall all that my heart held when full -
• The Rape of Lucretia Op 37 - Female Chorus- Is it all? Is all this suffering and pain- in this in vain? -

Premiered in 1946 at Glyndebourne, The Rape of Lucretia was Britten’s second opera, coming after the unheralded stellar success of Peter Grimes. Perhaps in reaction to this, The Rape of Lucretia marks a radical change in approach and Britten’s decisive break with the grand opera tradition. A short work in only two acts with a small cast and an ensemble of only thirteen instrumentalists, it was the first ever chamber opera, a genre to which Britten and many others would return. Despite its modest size, the opera packs a powerful emotional punch in dealing with its dark subject matter. It tells the story of the Roman noblewoman Lucretia who is raped by the tyrant Tarquinius Superbus, ruler of Rome, and elects to kill herself rather than live with the shame. It is a story with a rich history and many artistic interpretations. Britten’s compact libretto, developed by Ronald Duncan, is an adaptation of a play by André Obey, itself based on Shakespeare’s poem on the same subject. The recording, made in 1993, is reissued as a part of the Richard Hickox Legacy Series, the renowned Britten conductor leading the City of London Sinfonia, the ensemble he founded in 1971. Hickox was praised for his ‘clear-sighted direction’ and there were also high marks for the ‘vivid, beautifully disciplined response from the City of London Sinfonia’ (Hi-Fi News). The recording includes Jean Rigby’s ‘beautifully sung and movingly felt performance’ (The Sunday Times) as Lucretia, and the supporting cast is excellent.