The Beggar's Opera was the work that changed the course of theater music in England, and drove Handel from the stage. A bitter but hilarious satire of the class struggle in the 18th century, it was actually a pastiche, with a musical score cobbled together from popular music of the day, and arranged by Johann Pepusch. It is ironic that some of Handel's own music made his future operas passé. The songs are short, but the score contains 69 of them.
In Act 1, Polly (Milena Grubor) is explaining to her father, Mr. Peachum (George Valenta) that her love life is not a problem, but he is not appeased. Mrs. Peachum (Patricia Petiet) enters in great dudgeon, declaring Polly to be wanton, as she has just been married, and to a highwayman, Captain MacHeath, to boot. They inform Polly that it is her duty to the family to become a rich widow, and turn her husband in to the law. Songs: "Virgins are Like the Fair Flower," "Our Polly is a Sad Slut," "Can Love Be Controlled By Advice," "Oh, Polly, You Might Have Toyed and Kissed," "I Like a Ship in Storms Was Toss'd," "A Fox May Steal Your Hens, Sir," "Oh, Ponder Well," "The Turtle Thus With Plaintive Crying." Although the songs were originally arranged by Johann Christopher Pepusch, for our production we used the new period-styled arrangements by Jonathan Dobin: www.beggarsopera.org. For more comic operas and operettas, visit comicoperaguild.org.
