John gay beggars opera

Polly enjoins him to flee, insisting they shall reunite when the path is safer. Regardless, he realizes a potential benefit to this union. Matt of the Mint gives a short, rousing speech justifying their trade as a means towards the redistribution of wealth.

When they are no longer of use, he betrays his associates to the criminal court system for a tidy reward. He is not alone for long before he is visited by several female consorts, the female counterparts to the gang. The Beggar's Opera[1] is a ballad opera in three acts written in by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch.

Macheath enters the tavern, and asks the men to convince Peachum that he has fled town and quit the gang. Peachum inquires of his wife, Mrs. Peachumwhether she has lately seen Captain Macheathone of their more distinguished highwaymen. Then the Peachum family will receive both reward money and Macheath's property, while Macheath will end up hanged.

It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satirical ballad opera to remain popular today. Peachum has meanwhile found Polly, who enters the scene assuring her father that she is merely trifling with Macheath for goods and gifts.

Polly protests this plan vehemently. Polly confesses that she married Macheath because her sexual ardor was so aroused that she needed to safeguard her reputation. In other words, he impeaches them. Peachum retires with Filch to ply him with alcohol.

The rest of the men exit for 'work,' leaving Macheath alone in the tavern. The work combines comedy and political satire in prose interspersed with songs set to contemporary and traditional English, Irish, Scottish, and French tunes. John Gay’s interest in beggars and criminals is a natural extension of his society’s interest; thus, many of his writings, such as Trivia and The Beggar’s Opera engage with his contemporary society’s fascination with criminality, all the while satirizing the pretensions of the new genteel class.

More importantly, she believes their daughter Polly may be embroiled in a love affair with the Captain.

The Beggar rsquo s

It is imperative that they intercede to stop the romance in its tracks. Above all, Polly must not marry Macheath, or else her money and potential earnings will default to Macheath. She has. Of primary importance is that the piece be understood as opera, even though it contains no recitative and no epilogue or prologue.

Peachum asks one of the lesser henchmen, Filchfor information about the romance. As he enters, he swears oaths of fidelity to Polly. Peachum revolts against this news. Although the women strive to imitate the airs of the gentry, they are actually raunchy and lewd.

This is revealed to be a lie, however, as Mrs. Peachum storms in to announce that Macheath and Polly have indeed married information she has gotten from Filch. She married Macheath for love, not money. Both parents are outraged. The Beggar’s Opera, a ballad opera in three acts by John Gay, performed at Lincoln’s Inn Fields Theatre, London, in and published in the same year.