Duncan Rock

As the imperious title empress, mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato leads the Met premiere of Handel’s tale of deception and deceit. Harry Bicket conducts Sir David McVicar’s wry new production, which gives this Baroque black comedy a politically charged, modern updating.

Britten’s The Rape of Lucretiabased on the play by André Obey—returned to Glyndebourne in 2015, nearly 70 years after its premiere there in 1946. Fiona Shaw, also known for her performance as Petunia Dursley in the Harry Potter films, directed the staging for this production.

Britten's last opera, in two acts, presented by Teatro Real.