This Ballet is based heavily on the ancient Roman tale of “Lucretia” better known as The Rape of Lucretia.  The story of Lucretia comes from accounts by the Roman historian Livy and the Greco-Roman historian Dio. This ballet focusses more on the account of Livy, however, for the sake of plot, the story of this ballet does NOT stay faithful to this account or any historical account of Lucretia.

         When telling the story of Lucretia, most people focus strictly on The Rape of Lucretia or strictly the suicide and generally don’t mention or rarely mention the events and greater context that comes from or builds to these tragic events. For example, Benjiman Britten wrote an opera titled “The Rape of Lucretia” which primary focused on both the rape and suicide and was meant to be viewed in a Christianized lens with the main point in Act II being “this all happened for a reason.” While I acknowledge the genius Britten was as a contemporary composer, I believe his approach and many others’ approaches to the story is one that lacks substance. As it is more likely they choose the story because of the rape and suicide, and not for the effect the rape and suicide had on Rome.

         In my telling of the story, I wish to promote a central idea that power corrupts. Both the hunger for power and birthright of power lead people to do horrendous immoral things. In most versions of the story, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, Sextus Tarquinius, and in some cases Tullia Minor are the characters that promote this idea of corruptive power. However, in my version, I add one more name to the fray: Lucius Junius Brutus. The man who in Livy’s account and in other Roman sources is hailed as a hero for his toppling of the Roman monarchy and instating the Roman Republic, is promoted as someone who wanted the power of Rome and was not afraid to use the opportunity of Lucretia’s violation and death to get his wish of power.

         To promote this narrative, creative liberties were taken with many of the plot points in the beginning and end of Lucretia. For example: Act 1 is not a historically accurate tale of anything and is meant to be an entire act that is based loosely on stories of Tarquinius Superbus’ reign. The purpose of Act I is to highlight the tyrannical nature of King Tarquin.

Act III is also a perversion of any “historical reference” as the battle for Rome between Brutus and Tarquinius never happened. Instead, once they gained support from the Roman people, Brutus, Collatinus, and the people of Rome just banished the king from ever entering Rome, almost as if they locked the doors when he was gone and never let him back inside. In my ending, it’s a war, it’s a battle, and it’s Brutus’ fight for his power.

         The final scene sums up the entire idea of the whole ballets plot, when Brutus places the crown upon his head after he killed Tarquinius Superbus, it is a spitting image of when Tarquinius Superbus killed Servius Tullius and placed the crown on his head at the beginning of the ballet. This signifies the point of the war, and how Brutus ended up using the violation and death of Lucretia as a political tool.