A Harlot's Progress is an opera in six scenes by the British composer Iain Bell which is based on William Hogarth's series of etchings of the same name.[1] The libretto is by British author Peter Ackroyd. The story concerns a country girl, who comes to the big city and becomes mistress of an old, rich man. Thrown out by him because of her taking of younger lovers, she becomes diseased and mad and eventually dies in misery.[2]
The opera premiered at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna on 13 October 2013 with coloratura soprano Diana Damrau in the lead role of Moll Hackabout conducted by Mikko Franck in a production by Jens-Daniel Herzog. Additional cast members included Nathan Gunn, Marie McLaughlin, Irish mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught, English tenor Christopher Gillett and French bass-baritone Nicolas Testé,[1] with the Arnold Schoenberg Choir as the chorus, and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.[2] Following the successful critical and audience response to the piece, the performance of 24 October 2013 was broadcast in a live web stream, in what was Theater an der Wien's first such transmission from their main auditorium.