Performances: Nov 18-21 @7:30pm; Nov 22 @3pm

Maryland Opera Studio presents Benjamin Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, a stark chamber opera that confronts violence, misogyny, and abuse of power. Soldiers’ cruelty toward wives escalates from drunken taunts to irreversible violence, exposing pride, entitlement, and unchecked authority. Lucretia’s integrity is both revered and violated. Written after World War II, Britten’s work probes moral collapse while seeking compassion, redemption, and renewal, framed by male and female choruses that grapple with questions of violence, shame, and forgiveness that remain relevant.

Audience Advisory: This performance contains adult subject matter, including sexual assault and suicide.