The Rake's Progress The Rake's Progress The Rake's Progress is an English-language opera in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings "A Rake's Progress" (1733–1735) of William Hogarth, which Stravinsky had seen on 2 May 1947, in a Chicago exhibition. The story concerns the decline and fall of one Tom Rakewell, who deserts Anne Trulove for the delights of London in the company of Nick Shadow, who turns out to be the Devil. After several misadventures, all initiated by the devious Shadow, Tom
William Hogarth from prostitutes, and gambling – the character's life ultimately ends in Bethlem Royal Hospital. The original paintings of "A Harlot's Progress" were destroyed in the fire at Fonthill House in 1755; the oil paintings of "A Rake's Progress" (1733–34) are displayed in the gallery room at Sir John Soane's Museum, London, UK. When the success of "A Harlot's Progress" and "A Rake's Progress" resulted in numerous pirated reproductions by unscrupulous printsellers, Hogarth lobbied in parliament for greater legal control over the reproduction of his and other artists' work. The result was the Engravers’ Copyright Act (known as ‘Hogarth's Act’), which