BRITTEN. THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA.

★★★★★ SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

“..THIS MARKS ANOTHER TRIUMPH FOR HGO: EXCELLENT IN EVERY RESPECT…MONTHS OF HARD WORK HAVE ONCE AGAIN PAID OFF HANDSOMELY, IN AN EVENING ALL WHO ATTENDED, LET ALONE PARTICIPATED MORE ACTIVELY IN, WILL REMEMBER FOR SOME TIME”

“THE PRODUCTION NAVIGATED A FRUITFUL, PRODUCTIVE BALANCING ACT BETWEEN RITUAL AND REALISM”

“TARQUINIUS’S ATTEMPT TO WASH HIMSELF BEFORE DEPARTING, VIOLENTLY TO SCRUB HIS BARE SKIN OF THE ‘DESIRE’ THAT LAY WITHIN HIM WAS HORRIBLE YET CRUCIAL TO WATCH”

★★★★★ OPERA TODAY

“ ELEANOR BURKE AND ALEX GOTCH’S DIRECTION IS AS BLEAK AND AUSTERE AS THE INNER ARCHITECTURE”

“ILLUMINATING”

★★★★ OPERA REVIEW

“A BOLD, INTIMATE 'LUCRETIA' DRIVEN BY POWERFUL PERFORMANCES AND STRIKING VISUAL CLARITY”

“THERE ARE SEVERAL ‘MAGIC MOMENTS’ WHERE EVERYTHING ALIGNS.”

“WHAT IMPRESSES MOST IS THE PRODUCTION’S CLARITY AND CONFIDENCE. IT IS ORIGINAL WITHOUT FEELING FORCED, AND EVERY ELEMENT WORKS TOWARDS THE SAME VISION. IT MAY NOT AIM FOR OVERWHELMING IMPACT, BUT IT ACHIEVES SOMETHING MORE SUSTAINED AND QUIETLY AFFECTING.”

★★★★ PLAYS TO SEE

“... A LIVING WOUND OF A PRODUCTION, WHICH IS AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE BEAUTIFUL AND INTERESTING BECAUSE IT’S STRANGE AND DIFFICULT. IT’S A WORTHY INTERPRETATION OF THIS PAINFUL AND PERENNIALLY RELEVANT STORY OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE”

“HAMPSTEAD GARDEN OPERA’S PRODUCTION OF THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA SEEMS TO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS OPERA IS NOT MERELY ABOUT AN ANCIENT VIOLATION, BUT ABOUT THE LONG AFTERLIFE OF VIOLENCE: HOW IT ENTERS A ROOM, HOW IT ALTERS THE AIR, HOW IT REARRANGES THE BODY’S RELATION TO ITSELF.”

“THIS PRODUCTION IS SO OPENLY A MIXED-MEDIA EXPERIENCE THAT ONE OCCASIONALLY WONDERS WHETHER THE WORK MIGHT, IN ANOTHER UNIVERSE, HAVE BEEN JUST AS POTENT AS A SPOKEN WORD OR MODERN MUSICAL THEATRE PIECE.”