At the camp, soldiers grow restless, eager for the war to begin. At home, their families wait anxiously, longing for it to end. Then, in a single night, an act of violence changes everything…
HGO presents Benjamin Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, an unflinching examination of the darkest recesses of human nature. Composed in the shadow of the Second World War, and confronting sexual violence and the abuse of power, it traces tragic consequences that ripple through lives and communities. Scored for eight voices – six characters and two ‘chorus’ commentators – and chamber ensemble, its haunting beauty is intensely intimate.
Following their award-winning production for HGO of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin (2024), directors Eleanor Burke and Alex Gotch reunite with conductor Oliver Cope for a gripping new staging of Britten’s first chamber opera, with a sparkling cast of young singers:
Female Chorus – Olivia Rose Tringham
Male Chorus – Daniel Gray Bell
Lucretia – Emma Roberts
Tarquinius – Jack Holton
Collatinus – Oleksii Zasiadko
Junius – Maximilian Catalano
Bianca – Mia Serracino
Lucia – Nikki Martin
April 18, 22, 23, 25 at 7.15pm – April 19 and 26 at 4pm
Jacksons Lane Theatre, 269A Archway Rd, London N6 5AA
For tickets and further information click here
ELEANOR BURKE: Burke’s two previous productions for HGO — Eugene Onegin (2024) and The Cunning Little Vixen (2023) — both won Off West End Awards. At just 23, Burke became the youngest director ever accepted onto the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House. She is a founder of Green Opera, was a semi-finalist in the 2025 European Opera-Directing Prize, and her recent work includes world premieres of Jane Eyre by John Joubert (Arcola Theatre/Green Opera), and Verlaine en Prison by Burke and Logan Lopez González (Royal Opera House/La Monnaie). Upcoming projects include Assistant Director for Oedipus (Studio 54, Broadway) and Director for Pagliacci (English Touring Opera), and Turandot (Opera Holland Park)
ALEX GOTCH: Gotch’s credits as Associate Director include La Cenerentola (ETO) and Pélleas et Mélisande (Longborough), and as Movement Director/Choreographer, Werther (Opera Comique), Pagliacci and The Rake’s Progress (ETO), Eugene Onegin (HGO), Jane Eyre (Arcola Theatre), The Marriage of Figaro (Waterperry), and Dido and Aeneas (Theatre Royal Bath). He will be the Revival Director for Opera Comique’s Werther, with performances across France. He was a semi-finalist in the European Opera-Directing Prize 2025.
OLIVER COPE: Cope is the recent First Prize winner at both the Koussevitzky International Conducting Competition and the International Athens Conducting Competition. He has conducted orchestras across Europe including the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra and Scottish Opera. His conducting of HGO’s Eugene Onegin was praised by The Spectator as ‘the sort of night that made you want to drag in an opera sceptic…’. He will conduct four performances as Musical Director for British Youth Opera’s 2026 production of The Rake’s Progress at Battersea Arts Centre and wilalso assist the world premiere of Krishna at Grange Park.
HGO – North London’s leading opera company: HGO (formerly Hampstead Garden Opera) as founded in 1990 and is North London’s leading opera company. HGO is committed to the development of young singers and to bringing opera to the London community, staging two productions each year. Its consistently high musical, vocal and productions standards make HGO an important part of the artistic life of North London. HGO has been proud to receive the 2024 and 2025 Off West End (‘Offie’) awards for opera performance for its productions of Cunning Little Vixen and Eugene Onegin. HGO has six finalist nominations for Off West End Awards 2026 (La Cenerentola and L’incoronazione di Poppea) and has been nominated for Fringe Theatre Awards 2025/6 Best Opera Production (Poppea).
HGO Trust is a registered charity (no.1168484), supported entirely by Friends, donors and sponsors.