The Beggar's Opera: Play Guide and Free Edition
The Beggar's Opera: author and translator credits, catalogue synopsis, subjects and links to the Gutenberg reading formats.
The Beggar's Opera is catalogued by Project Gutenberg with author credits for Gay, John (1685–1732).
Catalogue synopsis
Project Gutenberg supplies this automated synopsis of the opening text:
"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.
Book and edition facts
- Title: The Beggar's Opera
- Author credits: Gay, John (1685–1732)
- Catalogue language: English
Catalogue subjects
- Ballad operas -- Librettos
Gutenberg collections
- Category: British Literature
- Category: Humour
- Category: Plays/Films/Dramas
- Opera
Read this edition
View the complete Gutenberg catalogue record. Project Gutenberg identifies this edition as public domain in the United States; that designation does not establish its copyright status in every country.
Source notes
Catalogue metadata is public domain and is supplied through Gutendex, which imports Gutenberg's machine-readable catalogue. The automated synopsis is source-supplied, not an independently verified review. Author dates above describe the credited people; no ebook release date is presented as the book's original publication date.
Sources
More in Stage & Theatre
Keep reading
