Tom Rakewell falls under the spell of Nick Shadow, and opts for a sybaritic life of easy riches.
To a libretto by WH Auden and Chester Kallman, Stravinsky's opera is inspired by William Hogarth's engravings. Tom Rakewell falls under the spell of Nick Shadow, and opts for a sybaritic life of easy riches. But Nick is the devil. Tom ends up penniless and mad in Bedlam. Watch the DVD of Glyndebourne's 1975 staging with sets by David Hockney.