The Devil to Pay, or The Wives Metamorphos'd

(Also written The Devil to Pay, or The Wives Metamorphosed in some editions)

The text

An English ballad opera [1] by Charles Coffey (?-1745 ) (aided by John Mottley (1692-1750), and Theophilus Cibber ), it was based on Thomas Jevon's farce The Devil of a Wife (1686). Originally written as a three-act work, with Charles Coffey and John Mottley each responsible for half of the three acts, and first performed at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane, by His Majesty's Servants in 1731.

The original source text

The source of the opera , The Devil of a Wife, or, a Comical Transformation, by Thomas Jevon (1652–1688) , was in turn based on a plot borrowed from a Philip Sidney story. First performed in 1686 at Dorset Garden, after which various versions , with added music, were performed in later years, including a “ballad opera” version called The Devil to Pay, or The Wives Metamorphos'd by Coffey and Mottley (1731).

Translations and adaptations of the Coffey work

In 1732 the libretto of a much shorter and more well-received one-act version, edited by Theophilus Cibber, appeared in print. Initially called a “ballad opera”, or simply “an opera”, it was referred to as “a ballad farce” in later editions of the 19th century, usually only crediting Coffey as the author. The shorter version became the most successful ballad opera of the 18th century after The Beggar's Opera. Translated into German as Der Teufel ist los, oder Die verwandelten Weiber and performed in Berlin, 24 January 1743, it strongly influenced the development of the German Singspiel.