Royal Academy of Music: Susie Sainsbury TheatreMarylebone Rd, London, Greater London, NW1 5HT, United Kingdom
Dates/times in London time zone
Programme
| Stravinsky, Igor (1882-1971) | The Rake's Progress | Libretto by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman |
Performers
| Royal Academy Opera | ||
| Trevor Pinnock | Conductor | |
| Frederic Wake-Walker | Director | |
| Anna Jones | Set Designer | |
| Charlotte Burton | Lighting Designer | |
| Ergo Phizmiz | Video | |
| Ryan Vaughan Davies | Tenor | Tom Rakewell |
| Jacob Phillips | Baritone | Nick Shadow |
| Cassandra Wright | Soprano | Anne Trulove |
| Rebecca Hart | Mezzo-soprano | Baba the Turk |
| Georgia Mae Ellis | Mezzo-soprano | Mother Goose |
The Rake’s Progress follows the downfall of Tom Rakewell, who is engaged to his sweetheart, Anne Trulove. The mysterious Nick Shadow arrives to tell of the death and resulting legacy of an unknown uncle, and so begins the progress of the Rake to London. Inspired by William Hogarth’s engravings, Stravinsky and WH Auden (with Chester Kallman) wrote The Rake’s Progress while living as émigrés in the USA. The opera is a critique of the exploding capitalist attitude of the time and a reflection on youth from a composer approaching old age. Full of musical and cultural references, it juxtaposes Baroque and Classical with 20th-century themes.
Loading image...