The Beggar's Opera
by:
Bryan Loughrey (author)
John Gay (author)
‘Whore and rogue they call husband and wife: All professions be-rogue one another'The tale of Peachum, thief-taker and informer, conspiring to send the dashing and promiscuous highwayman Macheath to the gallows, became the theatrical sensation of the eighteenth century. In The Beggar’s Opera,...
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‘Whore and rogue they call husband and wife: All professions be-rogue one another'The tale of Peachum, thief-taker and informer, conspiring to send the dashing and promiscuous highwayman Macheath to the gallows, became the theatrical sensation of the eighteenth century. In The Beggar’s Opera, John Gay turned conventions of Italian opera riotously upside-down, instead using traditional popular ballads and street tunes, while also indulging in political satire at the expense of the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole. Gay’s highly original depiction of the thieves, informers, prostitutes and highwaymen thronging the slums and prisons of the corrupt London underworld proved brilliantly successful in exposing the dark side of a corrupt and jaded society.Bryan Loughrey and T. O. Treadwell’s introduction examines the eighteenth-century background of musical theatre and opera, the changing cityscape of London and the corruption of the legal system. This edition also includes a note on the music in The Beggar’s Opera and suggestions for further reading.
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Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780140432206 (0140432205)
ASIN: 140432205
Publish date: January 6th 1987
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Pages no: 128
Edition language: English
Category:
Classics,
Academic,
School,
Literature,
European Literature,
British Literature,
Read For School,
Plays,
Drama,
Theatre,
English Literature,
18th Century
Although it may be odd to read a musical, this is fascinating to me! It was written for the stage and employed many popular tunes from the day (1728). Here's a sample from Page 29 "A fox may steal your Hens, SirA Whore your Helath and Pence, SirYour Daughter robs your chest, SirYour wife may Steal y...
DVD has arrived---"Fill every glass, for wine inspires us, and fires us, With courage, love and joy. Women and wine should life employ. Is there ought else on earth desirous?"From wiki: The work took satiric aim at the passionate interest of the upper classes in Italian opera, and simultaneously set...