Composer: | Benjamin Britten |
Librettist: | Not entered yet. |
Premiere: | Not entered yet. |
Language: | English |
Synopsis: | The Beggar's Opera Synopsis |
Libretto: | The Beggar's Opera Libretto |
Translation(s): | Not entered yet. |
The Beggar's Opera is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satirical ballad opera to remain popular today. Ballad operas were satiric musical plays that used some of the conventions of opera, but without recitative. The lyrics of the airs in the piece are set to popular broadsheet ballads, opera arias, church hymns and folk tunes of the time.
In 1948, Benjamin Britten created an adaptation with new harmonisations and arrangements of pre-existing tunes. Additional dialogue was written by the producer, Tyrone Guthrie. Peter Pears was the first singer of Macheath.
Mr Peachum | |
Lockit | |
Macheath | |
Filch | |
Servant | |
Jemmy Twitcher | |
Crook-Finger'd Jack | |
Wat Dreary | |
More details roles |
Sheetmusic for opera | ![]() |
Sheetmusic for opera | ![]() |
MP3's for this opera | on Amazon.com |
DVD/CD's for this opera | on Amazon.com |