The Long LineThe Long Line

Igor Stravinsky

The Rake's Progress

Opera

Stage

The Rake's Progress is an English-language opera from 1951 in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings A Rake's Progress (1733–1735) of William Hogarth, which Stravinsky had seen on 2 May 1947, in a Chicago exhibition.

The story concerns the decline and fall of one Tom Rakewell, who deserts Anne Trulove for the delights of London in the company of Nick Shadow, who turns out to be the Devil. After several misadventures, all initiated by the devious Shadow, Tom ends up in Bedlam, a hospital for the insane at that time situated in the City of London. The moral of the tale is: "For idle hearts and hands and minds the Devil finds work to do."

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Synopsis

Tom Rakewell is courting Anne Trulove outside her father's house in the country. Father Trulove has doubts about his daughter's proposed marriage and tries to arrange a regular job for Tom; but Tom resists the idea and, left on his own, declares his intention to "live by my wits and trust to my luck." When Tom expresses his wish for money, Nick Shadow appears and tells him that an unknown uncle has left him a substantial fortune. He then invites Tom to employ him as a servant and accompany Tom to London to sort out the inheritance.
The second scene, set in Mother Goose's brothel, shows Shadow introducing his new master to the sleazy aspects of London life. But Tom is uneasy and laments his betrayal of love, yet accepts Mother Goose's invitation to spend the night with her. Meanwhile, back in the country, Anne wonders why she has not heard from Tom. She knows somehow that he is in danger, and sets out for London to aid him.

  1. The Rake's Progress: Act I: The Rake's Progress: Act I, Scene I. Prelude
  2. The Rake's Progress: Act I: The Rake's Progress: Act I, Scene I. "The Woods Are Green"
  3. Act One, Scene 1. Recitative: “Anne, my dear” (Trulove, Anne, Rakewell)
  4. The Rake's Progress: Act I: The Rake's Progress: Act I, Scene I. "Here I Stand"
  5. The Rake's Progress: Act I: The Rake's Progress: Act I, Scene I. "Tom Rakewell?"
  6. Act One, Scene 1. Recitative: “I’ll call the coachman, sir” (Shadow, Trulove)
  7. The Rake's Progress: Act I: The Rake's Progress: Act I, Scene I. "Farewell for Now"
  8. Act One, Scene 1. Recitative: “All is ready, sir” (Shadow, Rakewell)
  9. Act One, Scene 1. Arioso: “Dear father Trulove” (Rakewell) / Terzettino: “Laughter and light” (Rakewell, Anne, Trulove; Shadow)
  10. The Rake's Progress: Act I: The Rake's Progress: Act I, Scene II. "With Air Commanding"
  11. The Rake's Progress: Act I: The Rake's Progress: Act I, Scene II. "Come, Tom"
  12. Act One, Scene 2. Chorus: “Soon dawn will glitter” (Whores, Roaring Boys)
  13. Act One, Scene 2. Recitative: “Sisters of Venus, Brothers of Mars” (Shadow)
  14. The Rake's Progress: Act I: The Rake's Progress: Act I, Scene II. "Love too Frequently Betrayed"
  15. Act One, Scene 2. Chorus: “How sad a song” (Whores, Mother Goose)
  16. The Rake's Progress: Act I: The Rake's Progress: Act I, Scene II. "The Sun Is Bright"
  17. The Rake's Progress: Act I: The Rake's Progress: Act I, Scene III. "No Word From Tom"
  18. Act One, Scene 2. Aria: “Quietly, night” (Anne; Trulove)
  19. Act One, Scene 2. Recitative: “My father! Can I desert him” (Anne)
  20. The Rake's Progress: Act I: The Rake's Progress: Act I, Scene III. "I Go to Him"

Act II

Tom is bored with his dissolute life. He utters his second crucial wish, for happiness, whereupon Nick makes the odd suggestion that he demonstrate his freedom by marrying Baba the Turk, the famous bearded lady. Soon afterwards Anne finds Tom's London house, only to see him emerge from a sedan chair which also contains Baba, whom he has just married. Tom tells Anne to leave, yet genuinely regrets what has happened.
In the next scene Tom is clearly finding his eccentric marriage intolerable, as Baba is a chatterbox with a fiery temper. He silences her by throwing his wig over her face, then falls asleep. Nick enters with a "fantastic Baroque Machine" and demonstrates how, through the use of a hidden compartment in the machine, it appears to turn stones into bread. Tom cries out in his sleep that he wishes it were true, and waking, finds the machine he has dreamt of. Nick hints that if such machines were mass-produced Tom could become a saviour of mankind and Tom sets out to market the machine, not knowing it is a sham.

  1. The Rake's Progress: Act II, Scene I. "Vary the Song, O London, Change!"
  1. Act Two, Scene 1. Recitative: “O Nature, green unnatural mother” (Rakewell)
  2. Act Two, Scene 1. Aria (reprise): “Always the quarry that I stalk” (Rakewell)

Act II

Tom is bored with his dissolute life. He utters his second crucial wish, for happiness, whereupon Nick makes the odd suggestion that he demonstrate his freedom by marrying Baba the Turk, the famous bearded lady. Soon afterwards Anne finds Tom's London house, only to see him emerge from a sedan chair which also contains Baba, whom he has just married. Tom tells Anne to leave, yet genuinely regrets what has happened.
In the next scene Tom is clearly finding his eccentric marriage intolerable, as Baba is a chatterbox with a fiery temper. He silences her by throwing his wig over her face, then falls asleep. Nick enters with a "fantastic Baroque Machine" and demonstrates how, through the use of a hidden compartment in the machine, it appears to turn stones into bread. Tom cries out in his sleep that he wishes it were true, and waking, finds the machine he has dreamt of. Nick hints that if such machines were mass-produced Tom could become a saviour of mankind and Tom sets out to market the machine, not knowing it is a sham.

  1. The Rake's Progress: Act II, Scene I. "Master, Are You Alone"
  1. Act Two, Scene 1. Aria: “In youth the panting slave pursues” (Shadow)

Act II

Tom is bored with his dissolute life. He utters his second crucial wish, for happiness, whereupon Nick makes the odd suggestion that he demonstrate his freedom by marrying Baba the Turk, the famous bearded lady. Soon afterwards Anne finds Tom's London house, only to see him emerge from a sedan chair which also contains Baba, whom he has just married. Tom tells Anne to leave, yet genuinely regrets what has happened.
In the next scene Tom is clearly finding his eccentric marriage intolerable, as Baba is a chatterbox with a fiery temper. He silences her by throwing his wig over her face, then falls asleep. Nick enters with a "fantastic Baroque Machine" and demonstrates how, through the use of a hidden compartment in the machine, it appears to turn stones into bread. Tom cries out in his sleep that he wishes it were true, and waking, finds the machine he has dreamt of. Nick hints that if such machines were mass-produced Tom could become a saviour of mankind and Tom sets out to market the machine, not knowing it is a sham.

  1. The Rake's Progress: Act II, Scene I. "My Tale Shall Be Told"
  1. Act Two, Scene 1. “Come, master, observe the host of mankind” (Shadow)
  2. Act Two, Scene 2. Introduction

Act II

Tom is bored with his dissolute life. He utters his second crucial wish, for happiness, whereupon Nick makes the odd suggestion that he demonstrate his freedom by marrying Baba the Turk, the famous bearded lady. Soon afterwards Anne finds Tom's London house, only to see him emerge from a sedan chair which also contains Baba, whom he has just married. Tom tells Anne to leave, yet genuinely regrets what has happened.
In the next scene Tom is clearly finding his eccentric marriage intolerable, as Baba is a chatterbox with a fiery temper. He silences her by throwing his wig over her face, then falls asleep. Nick enters with a "fantastic Baroque Machine" and demonstrates how, through the use of a hidden compartment in the machine, it appears to turn stones into bread. Tom cries out in his sleep that he wishes it were true, and waking, finds the machine he has dreamt of. Nick hints that if such machines were mass-produced Tom could become a saviour of mankind and Tom sets out to market the machine, not knowing it is a sham.

  1. The Rake's Progress: Act II, Scene II. "How Strange!"
  2. The Rake's Progress: Act II, Scene II. "Anne! Here!"
  1. Act Two, Scene 2. Recitative: “My love, am I to remain in here for ever?” (Baba; Anne, Rakewell)

Act II

Tom is bored with his dissolute life. He utters his second crucial wish, for happiness, whereupon Nick makes the odd suggestion that he demonstrate his freedom by marrying Baba the Turk, the famous bearded lady. Soon afterwards Anne finds Tom's London house, only to see him emerge from a sedan chair which also contains Baba, whom he has just married. Tom tells Anne to leave, yet genuinely regrets what has happened.
In the next scene Tom is clearly finding his eccentric marriage intolerable, as Baba is a chatterbox with a fiery temper. He silences her by throwing his wig over her face, then falls asleep. Nick enters with a "fantastic Baroque Machine" and demonstrates how, through the use of a hidden compartment in the machine, it appears to turn stones into bread. Tom cries out in his sleep that he wishes it were true, and waking, finds the machine he has dreamt of. Nick hints that if such machines were mass-produced Tom could become a saviour of mankind and Tom sets out to market the machine, not knowing it is a sham.

  1. The Rake's Progress: Act II, Scene II. "Could It Then Have Been Known"
  1. Act Two, Scene 2. Finale: “I have not run away” (Baba, Rakewell, Voices, Town People)

Act II

Tom is bored with his dissolute life. He utters his second crucial wish, for happiness, whereupon Nick makes the odd suggestion that he demonstrate his freedom by marrying Baba the Turk, the famous bearded lady. Soon afterwards Anne finds Tom's London house, only to see him emerge from a sedan chair which also contains Baba, whom he has just married. Tom tells Anne to leave, yet genuinely regrets what has happened.
In the next scene Tom is clearly finding his eccentric marriage intolerable, as Baba is a chatterbox with a fiery temper. He silences her by throwing his wig over her face, then falls asleep. Nick enters with a "fantastic Baroque Machine" and demonstrates how, through the use of a hidden compartment in the machine, it appears to turn stones into bread. Tom cries out in his sleep that he wishes it were true, and waking, finds the machine he has dreamt of. Nick hints that if such machines were mass-produced Tom could become a saviour of mankind and Tom sets out to market the machine, not knowing it is a sham.

  1. The Rake's Progress: Act II, Scene III. "As I Was Saying"
  1. Act Two, Scene 3. Recitative: “My heart is cold” (Rakewell)
  2. Act Two, Scene 3. Pantomime: “Fa la la” (Shadow)

Act II

Tom is bored with his dissolute life. He utters his second crucial wish, for happiness, whereupon Nick makes the odd suggestion that he demonstrate his freedom by marrying Baba the Turk, the famous bearded lady. Soon afterwards Anne finds Tom's London house, only to see him emerge from a sedan chair which also contains Baba, whom he has just married. Tom tells Anne to leave, yet genuinely regrets what has happened.
In the next scene Tom is clearly finding his eccentric marriage intolerable, as Baba is a chatterbox with a fiery temper. He silences her by throwing his wig over her face, then falls asleep. Nick enters with a "fantastic Baroque Machine" and demonstrates how, through the use of a hidden compartment in the machine, it appears to turn stones into bread. Tom cries out in his sleep that he wishes it were true, and waking, finds the machine he has dreamt of. Nick hints that if such machines were mass-produced Tom could become a saviour of mankind and Tom sets out to market the machine, not knowing it is a sham.

  1. The Rake's Progress: Act II, Scene III. "You! O Nick, I've Had the Strangest Dream"
  1. Act Two, Scene 3. Duet: “Thanks to this excellent device” (Rakewell, Shadow)
  2. Act Two, Scene 3. Recitative: “Forgive me, master, for intruding” (Shadow, Rakewell)

Act III

The plan has failed – the act starts with the auction of the ruined Tom's property by the maniac auctioneer Sellem. The objects for sale include Baba, who has remained immobile since being silenced by the wig. When unwrapped, she resumes her tantrum, now directed at the auction-goers for disturbing her belongings, but calms down when Anne enters. Baba advises her to find Tom and "set him right", and warns her against Nick Shadow. She announces her intent to return to her life on the stage.
In a graveyard, Nick reveals his identity and demands payment from Tom, in the form of his soul; but as midnight strikes, Nick offers him an escape in the form of a game of cards; this section is accompanied only by harpsichord. Tom wins, thanks to the benign influence of Anne. Defeated, Nick sinks into the ground, condemning Tom to insanity as he goes. Consigned to Bedlam, Tom believes he is Adonis. Anne ("Venus") visits him, sings him to sleep, then quietly leaves him. When he realises she has gone, he dies.
In an epilogue, each of the principal characters gives a moral drawn from their scenes in the opera, and then come together to ascribe a final joint moral, "for idle hands, and hearts and minds, the Devil finds a work to do."

  1. The Rake's Progress: Act III, Scene I. "Aha!"
  2. The Rake's Progress: Act III, Scene I. "I Go to Him"
  3. The Rake's Progress: Act III, Scene I. "Sold! Annoyed! I've Caught You! Thieving!"
  4. The Rake's Progress: Act III, Scene I. "What Curious Phenomena..."
  5. The Rake's Progress: Act III, Scene II. "How Dark and Dreadful Is This Place"
  6. The Rake's Progress: Act III, Scene II. "Very Well, Then, My Dear"
  7. The Rake's Progress: Act III, Scene II. Prelude
  8. The Rake's Progress: Act III, Scene III. "Gently, Little Boat"
  9. The Rake's Progress: Act III, Scene III. "Prepare Yourselves, Heroic Shades"
  10. The Rake's Progress: Act III, Scene III. "There He Is. Have No Fear"
  11. The Rake's Progress: Act III, Scene III. "Where Art Thou, Venus?"
  12. The Rake's Progress: Act III, Scene III. Epilogue "Good People, Just a Moment"
  13. Scene II. “I Burn! I Freeze!” (Shadow)
  1. Act Three, Finale. Mourning Chorus: “Mourn for Adonis” (Chorus)
  2. Act Three, Scene 1. Aria: “Who hears me, knows me” (Sellem; Crowd) / Bidding Scene: “Seven — eleven” (Crowd, Sellem) / Aria: “Behold it, Roman, moral” (Sellem; Crowd) / Bidding Scene: “Fifteen — and a half” (Crowd, Sellem) / Recitative: “Wonderful” (Sellem) / Aria (continued): “
  3. Act Three, Scene 1. Duet: “You love him” (Baba, Anne, Crowd, Sellem) / Ballad Tune: “If boys had wings” (Rakewell, Shadow, Anne, Baba, Sellem, Crowd)
  4. Act Three, Scene 1. Recitative: “Ladies both fair and gracious”
  5. Act Three, Scene 1. “Ruin. Disaster. Shame” (Crowd, Anne, Sellem)
  6. Act Three, Scene 2. “With roses crowned” (Rakewell)
  7. Act Three, Scene 3. Arioso: “I have waited” (Rakewell)
  8. Act Three, Scene 3. Duet: “In a foolish dream” (Rakewell, Anne)
  9. Act Three, Scene 3. Duettino: “Every wearied body” (Anne, Trulove)
  10. Act Three, Scene 3. Recitative: “Anne, my dear” (Trulove, Anne)
  11. Act Three, Scene 3. Recitative: “I am exceeding weary” (Rakewell)

Synopsis from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Elsewhere

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