A Bold New Look at Britten’s ‘Rape of Lucretia’ in Long Beach

It might be argued that the Long Beach Opera has raped “The Rape of Lucretia.”

Benjamin Britten’s second major music drama, completed in 1946, explores the universal agonies of dishonor and destruction. Nevertheless, it sustains the virtues of classical poise and intimate restraint.

Ronald Duncan’s rather polite libretto--based on a play by Andre Obey and inspired by Shakespeare, Livy and Ovid--savors elegant verse. Britten’s transparent score, utilizing a cast of eight and an orchestra of 13, harks back to Baroque convention.

Christopher Alden, who staged the ultra-modern version introduced at the Center Theater on Sunday, doesn’t care much about Britten’s fine British understatement. Ever brash and often insightful, Alden deals in basics.

According to the program booklet, the action takes place in Rome during the 6th Century BC. Forget all that. For a stage, Alden asked his designing accomplice, Peter Harrison, to provide nothing more than a raked white wedge flanked by a huge white wall. A timeless message is scrawled on the wall: “ALL TYRANTS FALL THOUGH TYRANNY PERSISTS.”

The characters, generally overwrought, move in stylized isolation on this stark platform. Leslie Brown has dressed them in grim contemporary costumes, mostly black. The symbolism isn’t subtle.

The milieu is uncompromisingly stark, even in the scenes of domestic innocence. Where Britten deals in delicate degrees of light and shade, Alden concentrates on shade alone. His purpose, of course, is to make the message universal. Unfortunately, he has not clarified the narrative in the process. Moreover, his political, psychological and sociological interpolations sometimes stretch the text beyond the point of accommodation.

Still, one has to applaud the theatrical integrity of his vision. “The Rape of Lucretia” does gain immediacy in this uncompromisingly barren milieu. The impeccably choreographed rituals convey a raw emotional appeal that often enhances, sometimes even magnifies, the dynamic pulse of the score.

And the score is sensitively served by all concerned. Steven Sloane conducts with elegance that never inhibits dramatic tension. The cast represents a perfectly balanced ensemble of singing actors who are not afraid of taking risks. Katherine Ciesinski defines the contradictions of Lucretia’s character--erotic vulnerability, heroic defiance, stoic surrender--with pathetic honesty.

A full review runs in Tuesday’s Calendar section.