They say important works of art speak differently to each succeeding generation, their meaning morphing and refracting as social circumstances change and history unravels.
That was certainly true on Friday evening at Minneapolis' Minnsky Theatre, where Journey North Opera Company unveiled a new take on Benjamin Britten's opera "The Rape of Lucretia."
Premiered in 1946 and set in sixth-century B.C. Rome, "Lucretia" tends to be overshadowed by Britten's acknowledged masterpiece in the chamber opera genre, "The Turn of the Screw," based on the novella by Henry James.
But tweaked to match the challenges of the #MeToo era, Journey North's up-close-and-personal staging of "Lucretia" seemed viscerally topical in a week where Plácido Domingo, an icon of opera, was facing accusations of sexual misconduct from 20 women.
The #MeToo tweaks were small but significant. One involved actually showing the rape of Lucretia by the Roman prince Tarquinius, a scene Britten intended to be left to the imagination.
In director Amanda Carlson's staging, this was played as a series of stylized postures, which showed some of the violence while mercifully stinting on the gory detail.
Carlson also finessed the controversial ending of the opera, where the Male Chorus imposes a redemptive Christian interpretation on Lucretia's rape and suicide.
As the outstandingly communicative tenor Wesley Frye intoned the Male Chorus' message, his female counterpart, Amy Wolf, lunged angrily at him, as if outraged by the idea that Lucretia's suffering could be mitigated.
