The Cenci (1951–52) is Havergal Brian’s operatic realisation of Shelley’s gruesome tale of incest and parricide in Renaissance Italy. The score calls it simply ‘Opera in Eight Scenes’, but it rarely goes in for grand tunes; instead, its dark colours reflect Shelley’s fascination with the struggle between good and evil. Stylistically, it is an unusual but highly effective hybrid: a music-drama focused on the intense delivery of Shelley’s text, with the declamatory style of the vocal lines echoing such recent oratorios as Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex and Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher, and the freewheeling orchestral writing producing something of a vocal symphony.

First recording, live 1997, Queen Elizabeth Hall

Cast:
- Beatrice Cenci: Helen Field (soprano)
- Count Cenci: David Wilson-Johnson (baritone)
- Lucretia: Ingveldur Ýr Jónsdóttir (contralto)
- Cardinal Camillo/An officer: Stuart Kale (tenor)
- Orsino/Bernardo: Justin Lavender (tenor)
- Giacomo/Savella/1st Judge/2nd Judge: Jeffrey Carl (baritone)
- Marzio/3rd Guest/A Cardinal: Nicholas Buxton (tenor)
- Olimpio/Colonna/A Guest: Devon Harrison (bass)
- 1st Guest/2nd Guest: Serena Kay (soprano)