The Beggar's Opera by John Gay
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"The Beggar's Opera" by John Gay is a ballad opera written in 1728 with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. This groundbreaking work satirizes Italian opera, corrupt politics, and social injustice by featuring thieves, whores, and ordinary criminals instead of grand operatic heroes. Set to popular folk tunes and familiar melodies, it lampoons notable politicians like Robert Walpole and real-life criminals while comparing low-class rogues with their aristocratic counterparts. The premiere became
a sensation, running for 62 consecutive performances and launching it as the most popular play of the eighteenth century. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Gay, John, 1685-1732 |
|---|---|
| Title | The Beggar's Opera |
| Note | Wikipedia page about this book: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beggar%27s_Opera |
| Credits | Transcribed from the 1922 William Heinemann (1765 text) edition by David Price |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 83.2 (6th grade). Easy to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | ML: Music: Literature of music |
| Subject | Ballad operas -- Librettos |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 2421 |
| Release Date | Dec 1, 2000 |
| Last Update | Aug 14, 2019 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 497 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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