The Rape of Lucretia DVD 2015

Seventy years after its Glyndebourne world premiere, Benjamin Britten's first chamber opera is welcomed home with "a performance of enthralling emotional power and physical beauty" gifted with "piercingly intelligent, immaculately realized staging and superb singing, acting an playing" led by "Fiona Shaw's supremely nuanced direction" and underpinned by "febrile playing" from members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (The Telegraph, five stars). The production eloquently and tastefully tackles the difficult subject, which is lent emotional weight by "Christine Rice's grandly sung Lucretia, noble in tone yet tragically vunerable", along with baritone Duncan Rock's "forthright" Tarquinius and the "smooth bass" of Matthew Rose as the caring Collantinus (The Guardian, five stars).

"The DVD is evidence of a work, performances and a production accomplished at the highest level, each component brilliant and compelling in its own right, but here functioning perfectly together to deliver an effect that is simply overwhelming" Opera

Composer: Benjamin Britten

Director: Fiona Shaw

Conductor: Leo Hussain

Cast: Christine Rice, Allan Clayton, Kate Royal, Duncan Rock, Matthew Rose

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Run time: 1 hour 54 minutes

Language: English

Available in DVD and Blu-ray format