The Beggar's Opera (Penguin Classics)

The Beggar's Opera (Penguin Classics)

â€˜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 Beggarâ€™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. Gayâ€™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. Treadwellâ€™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 Beggarâ€™s Opera and suggestions for further reading.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Country USA
Brand Penguin
Manufacturer Penguin Classics
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber 21260869
Color Multicolor
ReleaseDate 1987-01-06
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780140432206

Country	USA
Brand	Penguin
Manufacturer	Penguin Classics
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	21260869
Color	Multicolor
ReleaseDate	1987-01-06
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780140432206

The Beggar's Opera (Penguin Classics)

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