The Beggar's Opera

E4960

ballad opera stage work

The Beggar's Opera is an 18th-century ballad opera by John Gay that satirizes politics and high society through the lives of thieves and prostitutes in London.

Aliases (6)

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	ballad opera → stage work →
composer	Johann Christoph Pepusch →
countryOfOrigin	Kingdom of Great Britain →
creator	John Gay →
firstPerformanceDate	1728-01-29 →
genre	ballad opera → satire →
hasAdaptation	1920 film adaptation → 1953 film adaptation → The Threepenny Opera → various television adaptations →
hasCharacter	Lockit → Mr. Peachum →
hasMainCharacter	Lucy Lockit → Macheath → Polly Peachum →
hasPart	Air "How happy could I be with either" → Air "Let us take the road" → Air "Over the hills and far away" →
hasSubject	class inequality → corruption → crime → law and justice → marriage →
influenced	The Threepenny Opera →
language	English →
literaryMovement	Augustan literature →
locationOfStory	London →
narrativeFocus	prostitutes → thieves →
notableFor	critique of Italian opera → founding the ballad opera tradition →
originalNetwork	Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre →
partOf	18th-century English theatre →
placeOfFirstPerformance	Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre →
publicationDate	1728 →
publisher	John Watts →
satirizes	Robert Walpole → high society → politics →
settingPeriod	early 18th-century London →
structure	three acts →
uses	folk melodies → parodied operatic arias → popular tunes →
workPeriod	18th century →
yearOfFirstPerformance	1728 →

Referenced by (39)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Lockit → Lucy Lockit ("The Beggar’s Opera") → Macheath ("The Beggar’s Opera") → Mr. Peachum → Polly Peachum →	appearsIn
Alfred Drake → Augustan literature → Johann Christoph Pepusch → John Gay → John Gay →	notableWork
Lockit → Mr. Peachum → Polly Peachum →	firstAppearance
"How happy could I be with either" ("The Beggar’s Opera") → "Over the hills and far away" (air) → Air "Let us take the road" →	partOf
"Over the hills and far away" (air) → Air "Let us take the road" →	firstPerformanceInWork
Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre → Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre ("The Beggar's Opera (1728)") →	notableProduction
Polly → Trivia, or the Art of Walking the Streets of London →	relatedWork
Air "Let us take the road" ("The Beggar's Opera by John Gay") →	associatedWork
The Threepenny Opera ("The Beggar’s Opera") →	basedOn
Mr. Peachum →	characterIn
Macheath ("The Beggar’s Opera") →	firstAppearanceWork
Polly →	follows
John Gay ("The Threepenny Opera") →	hasWorkAdaptedAs
Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre →	hasWorkPremiere
The Beggar's Opera ("The Threepenny Opera") →	influenced
The Threepenny Opera ("The Beggar’s Opera") →	influencedBy
Polly →	isSequelInLiterature
Polly →	isSequelTo
"How happy could I be with either" ("The Beggar’s Opera") →	originalWork
Air "Let us take the road" ("Act I of The Beggar's Opera") →	partOfAct
Polly ("The Beggar's Opera series") →	partOfSeries
Catherine Douglas, Duchess of Queensberry →	supportedWork
"Over the hills and far away" (air) →	usedIn
John Gay →	wrote