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5 unusual facts about The Rape of Lucretia


André Obey

Obey's play Le Viol de Lucrèce was drawn on by Ronald Duncan for the libretto of Benjamin Britten's opera The Rape of Lucretia.

Anna Pollak

She created several roles in 20th century operas including Bianca in Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia and Lady Nelson in Lennox Berkeley's Nelson.

Claudia Lindsey

Finding it difficult to get work with opera companies in the United States, Lindsey went to Europe where she portrayed such roles as Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro, the Female Chorus in The Rape of Lucretia, Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte, Mimi in La bohème, and the title heroine in Aida among other parts during the 1970s.

Nancy Evans

Her first important opera role was Lucretia in the 1946 Glyndebourne production of Britten's The Rape of Lucretia.

The Rape of Lucretia

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.


Eric Crozier

He directed his wife, Nancy Evans, in the role of Lucretia in the 1946 premiere of Britten's opera The Rape of Lucretia at Glyndebourne, and later succeeded Peter Pears as director of the Aldeburgh Festival.


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