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The Rake's Progress
Igor Strawinsky
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Premiere
Duration: about 3 hours, one interval |
Duration: about 3 hours, one interval
ACT ONE
Scene 1: In the country, at the Truloves’ house
Tom Rakewell and his fiancée Anne exchange declarations of love. Anne’s father is worried about the future of the young couple. Tom has a chance to train in a bank through a friend of Trulove’s. But Tom would prefer to leave it to chance. As he declares his wish to be rich, a stranger – Nick Shadow – appears with the news that Tom has been left a fortune by an unknown uncle. Nick offers Tom his services and urges him to come to London to deal with the formalities of the inheritance. He declares his wish to settle up with Tom only after a year. Tom bids goodbye to Anne and her father.
Scene 2: A bar in London
High spirits in Mother Goose’s bar. Nick is eager to introduce Tom to a life in which only the fulfilment of the enjoyment of the moment counts. As a test Tom must declare his definitions of nature, beauty and pleasure; when it turns to defining love, Tom becomes hesitant and broods over having betrayed Anne’s love. Nick succeeds in allaying Tom’s doubts, and Tom spends the night with Mother Goose.
Scene 3: In front of Trulove’s house
Tom has not written a word since he went away; Anne decides to leave her father and to go and look for Tom in London.
ACT TWO
Scene 4: In London
Tom is bored with the delights of the city, but cannot make up his mind to go back to Anne. Nick proposes that Tom should marry Baba the Turk, who is the talk of town. This move is to show that Tom is capable of making his own decisions regardless of his own feelings and of all conventions.
Scene 5: In front of Tom’s apartment
Anne has found out Tom’s address. But she hesitates to enter the house. Tom arrives in a car, freshly married to Baba. On alighting he sees Anne and is first embarrassed, but then urges her to leave town at once. The truth is revealed when Baba alights in her wedding dress. Anne flees in despair. The crowd cheers Tom and Baba.
Scene 6: At home with Tom and Baba
Matrimonial hell at the breakfast-table: Baba chatters incessantly to Tom, who remains silent. This infuriates Baba, who accuses him of still loving Anne. To evade a quarrel Tom seeks refuge in sleep, and dreams of a machine which can turn stones into bread. On awaking, he wishes the dream could come true. Nick appears, informs Tom to his amazement that he has invented just such a machine, and demonstrates it. Tom has a vision of himself as the benefactor of all hungry people. Nick persuades him to put the invention into mass production.
ACT THREE
Scene 7: In Tom’s apartment
The bread machine was revealed as a swindle. Not only does Tom stand there as a cheat, but he has also incurred such massive debts that his entire property is to be sold off. In the bustle of auction Anne looks in vain for Tom. The auctioneer Sellem carries out the auction. An object covered with a cloth turns out to be Baba. She comes under the hammer too. Meanwhile Anne recognizes Tom’s voice mocking Baba together with Nick in front of the door. Baba escapes from the crowd and informs them that she will go back to the theatre she came from. She tells Anne that Tom still loves her and urges her to save him.
Scene 8: In a graveyard
A year has passed since Tom first met Nick. As agreed, Nick wishes to settle up. His demand is: Tom’s soul. As the clock strikes he agrees nevertheless to a last test. Tom is to guess three cards. Thinking of Anne’s love and of death, he rightly guesses the Queen of Hearts and the Two of Spades. Nick cheats by putting the Queen of Hearts up a second time, but, thinking of Anne, Tom guesses it right again. Nick is defeated, but counters by striking Tom with madness.
Scene 9: In a madhouse
Tom takes himself for Adonis and Anne for Venus. He is mocked by the other inmates. Anne arrives with her father and Tom repents of having deserted her. Anne rocks him into eternal sleep.
Epilogue
The protagonists send us home with the moral of the piece: “For idle hands and hearts and minds the Devil finds a work to do”.
Scene 1: In the country, at the Truloves’ house
Tom Rakewell and his fiancée Anne exchange declarations of love. Anne’s father is worried about the future of the young couple. Tom has a chance to train in a bank through a friend of Trulove’s. But Tom would prefer to leave it to chance. As he declares his wish to be rich, a stranger – Nick Shadow – appears with the news that Tom has been left a fortune by an unknown uncle. Nick offers Tom his services and urges him to come to London to deal with the formalities of the inheritance. He declares his wish to settle up with Tom only after a year. Tom bids goodbye to Anne and her father.
Scene 2: A bar in London
High spirits in Mother Goose’s bar. Nick is eager to introduce Tom to a life in which only the fulfilment of the enjoyment of the moment counts. As a test Tom must declare his definitions of nature, beauty and pleasure; when it turns to defining love, Tom becomes hesitant and broods over having betrayed Anne’s love. Nick succeeds in allaying Tom’s doubts, and Tom spends the night with Mother Goose.
Scene 3: In front of Trulove’s house
Tom has not written a word since he went away; Anne decides to leave her father and to go and look for Tom in London.
ACT TWO
Scene 4: In London
Tom is bored with the delights of the city, but cannot make up his mind to go back to Anne. Nick proposes that Tom should marry Baba the Turk, who is the talk of town. This move is to show that Tom is capable of making his own decisions regardless of his own feelings and of all conventions.
Scene 5: In front of Tom’s apartment
Anne has found out Tom’s address. But she hesitates to enter the house. Tom arrives in a car, freshly married to Baba. On alighting he sees Anne and is first embarrassed, but then urges her to leave town at once. The truth is revealed when Baba alights in her wedding dress. Anne flees in despair. The crowd cheers Tom and Baba.
Scene 6: At home with Tom and Baba
Matrimonial hell at the breakfast-table: Baba chatters incessantly to Tom, who remains silent. This infuriates Baba, who accuses him of still loving Anne. To evade a quarrel Tom seeks refuge in sleep, and dreams of a machine which can turn stones into bread. On awaking, he wishes the dream could come true. Nick appears, informs Tom to his amazement that he has invented just such a machine, and demonstrates it. Tom has a vision of himself as the benefactor of all hungry people. Nick persuades him to put the invention into mass production.
ACT THREE
Scene 7: In Tom’s apartment
The bread machine was revealed as a swindle. Not only does Tom stand there as a cheat, but he has also incurred such massive debts that his entire property is to be sold off. In the bustle of auction Anne looks in vain for Tom. The auctioneer Sellem carries out the auction. An object covered with a cloth turns out to be Baba. She comes under the hammer too. Meanwhile Anne recognizes Tom’s voice mocking Baba together with Nick in front of the door. Baba escapes from the crowd and informs them that she will go back to the theatre she came from. She tells Anne that Tom still loves her and urges her to save him.
Scene 8: In a graveyard
A year has passed since Tom first met Nick. As agreed, Nick wishes to settle up. His demand is: Tom’s soul. As the clock strikes he agrees nevertheless to a last test. Tom is to guess three cards. Thinking of Anne’s love and of death, he rightly guesses the Queen of Hearts and the Two of Spades. Nick cheats by putting the Queen of Hearts up a second time, but, thinking of Anne, Tom guesses it right again. Nick is defeated, but counters by striking Tom with madness.
Scene 9: In a madhouse
Tom takes himself for Adonis and Anne for Venus. He is mocked by the other inmates. Anne arrives with her father and Tom repents of having deserted her. Anne rocks him into eternal sleep.
Epilogue
The protagonists send us home with the moral of the piece: “For idle hands and hearts and minds the Devil finds a work to do”.
