Opera review: The Rape of Lucretia at the Wexford Opera House

"A rotted body politic riven with lies and factions and a sense that debauchery, despotism and tyranny governs all," is how director, Michael Barker-Caven describes the background of The Rape of Lucretia.

The dramatic plot of Britten’s 1946 chamber opera was given a modern makeover in Irish Youth Opera’s inaugural production which opened at Wexford Opera House on Saturday and plays at Everyman Cork tonight (Tuesday).

In Joe Vanek’s setting, the stage becomes a daytime TV studio with red leather sofa and a bank of monitors.