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Available
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Publication
Publisher Unknown (1969)
Description
Drama. Fiction. HTML: The Beggar's Opera is the only ballad opera that is still popularly performed today. A ballad opera is a satirical musical, which uses the form of an opera but incorporates popular songs and ballads as well as operatic numbers. The Beggar's Opera satirizes the corruption to be found in all levels of society. Its immense popularity provided funds for the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, to be built and also catapulted its leading lady to fame. It has continued to be performed ever since its premier in 1728..
User reviews
LibraryThing member dczapka
The Beggar's Opera is such an important piece of theatre, both now and at the time of its first performances, that it's hard to believe that any review I could write for it would suffice. Nevertheless, even if the only tangential exposure one has to it is through a pop standard written for a modern
The plot of the play revolves around the scoundrel Macheath, a notorious thief who swears his love to two ladies: a fellow thief named Lucy, and poor Polly, daughter of the aptly-named Peachum, who takes advantage throughout of convoluted plots to inform on known thieves in order to collect a reward for their capture. The plot is surprisingly simple for all its double-crossing and scheming, but, as the ingenious finale proves, the plot is really besides the point.
Where the play shines is in its satirical characterization of the period. Peachum, as the crooked "thief-taker," is as guilty as any other villain in the play -- even the prime minister Robert Walpole, to whom many jokes and lays are slung. The lays, short songs performed to the tune of popular standards, remain fascinating jabs at the growing popularity of opera in the period, as is the frame of a poor beggar whose tale is performed for the audience's enjoyment.
By the end, all caution and couth has been thrown to the wind and the situations are left in complete disarray. The chaotic yet carefully constructed nature of the play is what allows it to endure: the sheer fact that it manages to stay together is a testament to the genius of Gay as a playwright. Sadly, little of his other work (including an ill-conceived sequel) lived up to the promise of The Beggar's Opera, but its enduring popularity alone makes it worthy of letting yourself become bemused in its brisk banter.
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derivation -- "Mack the Knife," from the Threepenny Opera, of course -- I can't stress enough how marvelous the original remains, nearly 300 years later.The plot of the play revolves around the scoundrel Macheath, a notorious thief who swears his love to two ladies: a fellow thief named Lucy, and poor Polly, daughter of the aptly-named Peachum, who takes advantage throughout of convoluted plots to inform on known thieves in order to collect a reward for their capture. The plot is surprisingly simple for all its double-crossing and scheming, but, as the ingenious finale proves, the plot is really besides the point.
Where the play shines is in its satirical characterization of the period. Peachum, as the crooked "thief-taker," is as guilty as any other villain in the play -- even the prime minister Robert Walpole, to whom many jokes and lays are slung. The lays, short songs performed to the tune of popular standards, remain fascinating jabs at the growing popularity of opera in the period, as is the frame of a poor beggar whose tale is performed for the audience's enjoyment.
By the end, all caution and couth has been thrown to the wind and the situations are left in complete disarray. The chaotic yet carefully constructed nature of the play is what allows it to endure: the sheer fact that it manages to stay together is a testament to the genius of Gay as a playwright. Sadly, little of his other work (including an ill-conceived sequel) lived up to the promise of The Beggar's Opera, but its enduring popularity alone makes it worthy of letting yourself become bemused in its brisk banter.
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LibraryThing member Sarahursula
‘Hark! I hear the sound of coaches! The hour of attack approaches, To your arms, brave boys, and load.’ So sings Matt of the Mint, part of Macheath’s gang of thieves, and how the fashionable London audience laughed and applauded. Then afterwards they climbed into their carriages to drive home
There were of course political and social parallels within the opera. The Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole was caricatured as ‘Robin of Bagshot, alias Gorgon, alias Bluff Bob, alias Carbuncle, alias Bob Booty’. He was also mocked in the amoral and hypocritical Peachum and the anti-hero Macbeth – the Adonis of thieves - with his womanising. Gay and his composer teased Handel with their old English songs and lyrics. The company of thieves go off to rob coaches to the march from Rinaldo. The Polly (wife to Macheath) Lucky Lockit (mistress to Macheath) rivalry mocked the dislike and competition between Handel’s two mega soprano stars Cuzzoni and Faustina.
Interestingly Gay can’t quite make the heroine Polly Peachum a prostitute (a step too far but this part made a star of Lavinia Fenton) she has to be innocent, generous and married and thus a disappointment to her parents. She is honest where they are duplicitous, trusting when they trust no one and married to their disgust. ‘If the wench does not know her own profit, sure she knows her own pleasure better than to make herself a property! My daughter to me should be, like a court lady to a minister of state, a key to the whole gang. Married! If the affair is not already done, I’ll terrify her from it, by the example of our neighbours.’
Is there a happy ending given this dark sardonic view of human nature and relationships? Well, there is an ending but then Gay quoted an epigram of Martial on the title-page of the libretto to warn his critics, ‘We know these things to be nothing.’
I listened to Sir Malcolm Sargent, Pro Arte Chorus and Pro Arte Orchestra (1955) recording in parallel with reading the play.
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and perhaps wondered, just for a minute, whether they would be robbed by highwaymen because John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera had a cast of cheats, prostitutes and thief takers – all those the affluent audience drove past on their way home. There were of course political and social parallels within the opera. The Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole was caricatured as ‘Robin of Bagshot, alias Gorgon, alias Bluff Bob, alias Carbuncle, alias Bob Booty’. He was also mocked in the amoral and hypocritical Peachum and the anti-hero Macbeth – the Adonis of thieves - with his womanising. Gay and his composer teased Handel with their old English songs and lyrics. The company of thieves go off to rob coaches to the march from Rinaldo. The Polly (wife to Macheath) Lucky Lockit (mistress to Macheath) rivalry mocked the dislike and competition between Handel’s two mega soprano stars Cuzzoni and Faustina.
Interestingly Gay can’t quite make the heroine Polly Peachum a prostitute (a step too far but this part made a star of Lavinia Fenton) she has to be innocent, generous and married and thus a disappointment to her parents. She is honest where they are duplicitous, trusting when they trust no one and married to their disgust. ‘If the wench does not know her own profit, sure she knows her own pleasure better than to make herself a property! My daughter to me should be, like a court lady to a minister of state, a key to the whole gang. Married! If the affair is not already done, I’ll terrify her from it, by the example of our neighbours.’
Is there a happy ending given this dark sardonic view of human nature and relationships? Well, there is an ending but then Gay quoted an epigram of Martial on the title-page of the libretto to warn his critics, ‘We know these things to be nothing.’
I listened to Sir Malcolm Sargent, Pro Arte Chorus and Pro Arte Orchestra (1955) recording in parallel with reading the play.
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LibraryThing member stillatim
Very strange to read this in the 21st century. These days everyone treats the poor/disadvantaged etc very nicely (well, everyone except Martin Amis). For his time, you might say the same of Gay, but every character in this book full of poor people is a criminal or scumbag of some other kind. So not
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so sympathetic. On the other hand, that's a good thing: there's no way you can depict the evils of poverty without making the impoverished at least a little offputting. If they're all nice and happy, what's the problem with impoverishment? But the opening and closing dialogues are very cutting parodies of Italian Opera, and the plot contrivances of both those operas and fictions in general, as well as the disproportion between the punishments the vicious poor and the vicious rich suffer. It's pretty funny, but I suspect it would be better on stage than on the page, and certainly some of the humor must be lost to history. Show Less
LibraryThing member JBarringer
I also watched the 60's BBC production of this play, which helped flesh out the story a bit. This is an operatic play, so reading it without hearing the songs is a bit dull. This play is supposed to be light entertainment with a bit of social commentary thrown in, and it seems fairly successful,
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even for a modern audience, but it's not one of my favorite classic plays. Show Less
LibraryThing member REINADECOPIAYPEGA
Meh.
I wanted to like it more than I actually did, perhaps I didn't because generally plays and books that are from that time period I rarely find easy reads. I did however love everything by Moliere and I also loved ' She stoops to conquer ' but that might not be as old as this, I've forgotten when
2-2.5
I wanted to like it more than I actually did, perhaps I didn't because generally plays and books that are from that time period I rarely find easy reads. I did however love everything by Moliere and I also loved ' She stoops to conquer ' but that might not be as old as this, I've forgotten when
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that was written.2-2.5
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Subjects
Original publication date
1728
Other editions
The Beggar's Opera (Penguin Classics) by John Gay (Paperback)