Difference between revisions of "The Beggar's Opera"
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| − | ''The Beggar’s Opera'' by John Gay (1685-1732). | + | ''The Beggar’s Opera'' is a ballad opera, The text is by John Gay (1685-1732) and the music consists largely of pouplar tunes of the day to whic Gay adapted his own words. In the original production these were arranged and orchestrated by Dr. Christoph Pepusch, who also composed the overture. |
| + | |||
| + | A musical comedy about the love triangle between the highwayman Macheath, his fence's daughter Polly and the jailer's daughter Lucy. | ||
| + | |||
| + | == The original text == | ||
| + | First produced in the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in London in 1728. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Translations and adaptations== | ||
| + | There was a London revival at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, produced by Sir Nigel Playfair, for whic the music was freely rearranged by Frederic Austin. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Since 1920 there had been several "rewrites" of ''The Beggar's Opera''. | ||
| + | |||
| + | It later formed the basis of Bertolt Brecht’s immensely popular ''[[The Threepenny Opera]]'' (qv.). | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | == Performance history in South Africa == | ||
| + | Satged in Cape Town in 1922 at the {Opera House]] by an overseas company under the direction of African Theatres Ltd. | ||
South African performances of Gay’s opera include productions by [[CAPAB]] in 1964 and [[Louis Burke]], with [[Joan Brickhill]], [[David Holliday]], [[Louis Burke]], [[Maggie Soboil]] and [[Frank Lazarus]] (opened in Cape Town in 1965, and then taken to Johannesburg by [[Theatre International]] in 1966).**. | South African performances of Gay’s opera include productions by [[CAPAB]] in 1964 and [[Louis Burke]], with [[Joan Brickhill]], [[David Holliday]], [[Louis Burke]], [[Maggie Soboil]] and [[Frank Lazarus]] (opened in Cape Town in 1965, and then taken to Johannesburg by [[Theatre International]] in 1966).**. | ||
| + | == Sources == | ||
| + | ''The Beaggar's Opera'' theatre programme, 1965. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]] | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Return to == | ||
| + | |||
| + | Return to [[PLAYS I: Original SA plays]] | ||
| + | Return to [[PLAYS II: Foreign plays]] | ||
| + | Return to [[PLAYS III: Collections]] | ||
| − | Return to [[ | + | Return to [[PLAYS IV: Pageants and public performances]] |
| − | Return to [[ | + | Return to [[South_African_Festivals|South African Festivals and Competitions]] |
| + | Return to [[The ESAT Entries]] | ||
| + | |||
Return to [[Main Page]] | Return to [[Main Page]] | ||
Revision as of 10:30, 23 March 2016
The Beggar’s Opera is a ballad opera, The text is by John Gay (1685-1732) and the music consists largely of pouplar tunes of the day to whic Gay adapted his own words. In the original production these were arranged and orchestrated by Dr. Christoph Pepusch, who also composed the overture.
A musical comedy about the love triangle between the highwayman Macheath, his fence's daughter Polly and the jailer's daughter Lucy.
Contents
The original text
First produced in the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in London in 1728.
Translations and adaptations
There was a London revival at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, produced by Sir Nigel Playfair, for whic the music was freely rearranged by Frederic Austin.
Since 1920 there had been several "rewrites" of The Beggar's Opera.
It later formed the basis of Bertolt Brecht’s immensely popular The Threepenny Opera (qv.).
Performance history in South Africa
Satged in Cape Town in 1922 at the {Opera House]] by an overseas company under the direction of African Theatres Ltd.
South African performances of Gay’s opera include productions by CAPAB in 1964 and Louis Burke, with Joan Brickhill, David Holliday, Louis Burke, Maggie Soboil and Frank Lazarus (opened in Cape Town in 1965, and then taken to Johannesburg by Theatre International in 1966).**.
Sources
The Beaggar's Opera theatre programme, 1965.
Go to ESAT Bibliography
Return to
Return to PLAYS I: Original SA plays
Return to PLAYS II: Foreign plays
Return to PLAYS III: Collections
Return to PLAYS IV: Pageants and public performances
Return to South African Festivals and Competitions
Return to The ESAT Entries
Return to Main Page
