The Beggars Opera and the Voice of the People

by Judyth Vary Baker

By the middle of the 17th century, though Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth are
remembered together today as iconic figures in the great plays and dramas we still enjoy
today, Puritanism and the Plague nevertheless eventually united to close down British
theater:
On the 6th of September, 1642, the theaters were closed by
ordinance, it being considered not seemly to indulge in any kind of
diversions or amusements in such troublous times. In 1647 another and
more imperative order was issued, in consequence of certain infractions of
the previous one, threatening to imprison and punish as rogues all who
broke its enactments. Close upon the heels of this second came a third,
which declared all players to be rogues and vagabonds, and authorized the
justices of the peace to demolish all stage galleries and seats; any actor
discovered in the exercise of his vocation should for the first offense be
whipped, for the second be treated as an incorrigible rogue, and every
person found witnessing the performance of a stage play should be fined
five shillings. (Baker, 34-35)

With the Restoration in 1660, theaters were once again established. By the first half of
the 18th century, they were thriving. Powerful voices now defended the theater, inspired
by the dire need for entertainment hat existed in London, as well as by the memory of the
sufferings of the persecuted artists and writers of the past. With the expansion of the
theater once more, opera came to the fore, through social and cultural elements that gave
rise to the English operatic project, including the dramatists urge to write in an era when
drama was banned,,. (Stack, 2)
Plays and operas had become increasingly secular, women had moved into visible
public positions as actresses and singers, and urban growth created opportunities to
display the theater arts to a steadily-growing middle class. The opportunity for social
mobility was now available to many, by means of marriage or new money. Theatrical
productions became lavish once more. Italian and French operas became pompous shows,
often with little real substance.

Perhaps John Gay, certainly not noble by birth, must have grown tired of too many
empty operatic displays. And certainly he was able to take advantage of his knowledge of
the middle and lower classes to create a work of entertainment that was not only
enjoyable, but also made perfect sense to those patrons who filled the cheaper seats.
Gay wrote the libretto and composer Johann Christoph Pepusch adapted the music,
plucked mostly from earlier popular songs and dances to grace an opera in strict contrast
to those high-falutin Italian and French productions of the same name. For Gays opera
was different. Very different. .Gay not only appropriated a Bully Pulpit for his political
and social views, but he successfully delivered them, in one of the most scathing
indictments against human greed and corruption the world has ever enjoyed: if a
spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down this was sweet medicine, indeed. The
Beggars Opera was the very first ballad opera -- bawdy, earthy, and fun as hell.
Todays comedic moral musicals My Fair Lady, Kiss Me, Kate, The Rocky Horror
Show, and The Sound of Music are modern cousins of The Beggars Opera. But there is a
dark side to Gays masterpiece which would be developed through The Three Penny
Opera and its spin-offs. Modern dark moral musicals include The Phantom of the Opera,
Evita, Les Miserables, Fiddler on the Roof, West Side Story, and Jesus Christ, Superstar.
Gays concerns were well-founded. He set out to expose the failures of the English
social and political system that had yet to take to heart John Drydens call for reform at he
turn of the century, just twenty-seven years earlier:
All, all of a piece throughout:
Thy chase had a Beast in View;
Thy Wars brought nothing about;
Thy lovers were all untrue.
Tis well an Old Age is out,
And time to begin a New.
(Dryden:The Secular Masque from Perry, 92)

We know that operarelied upon four principal sources of income: a yearly subsidy
from the kingyearly subscribersbox-office receipts, and grants from other opera
patrons at the end of the season (Scouten, lxviii) and it could be most unwise to distress
these supporters by mounting direct accusations, however justifiable, even under the guise
of an opera. Only a decade later, Henry Fielding would provoke a crackdown on theatrical
productions via Robert Walpole, the proud Whig statesman who, as prime minister,
dominated British politics in Gays world as well.

Fielding delivered lines with more impact than innuendo in his production The
Historical Register for the year 1736 -- a blatant advertisement that Fielding was aiming
his arrows at Walpoles administration. What else could Walpole do, confronted, in
troublous times, with such newspaper remarks as Among many (others)he (Fielding)
created one called Quidem, a fiddler, who made people dance to his tune by means of
bribes. (Roose-Evans, 55).
Fielding had exercised more recklessness than cleverness in aiming those poisoned
barbs, whereas John Gay was so successful (after initial difficulties) that The beggars
Opera became the most popular opera of the century, inspiring many imitations then and
ever since. Gay had touched a common chord amongst humankind, a true touch that
would retain its relevance not only in Gays era, but for generations following. The
Beggars Opera remains a work that continues to reach audiences worldwide, as the
following examples (from among many) for the year 2010 help illustrate:
The Beggar's Opera - Royal Opera House
Many different versions have been made of The Beggar's Opera, ... City of London
Sinfonia and in a new production directed by Justin Way
www.roh.org.uk/whatson/production.aspx?pid=8149

Opera Theater Oregon : Home

The Beggar's Opera. February 2010: Das Rheingold. May 2010: ... and you've got Opera
Theater Oregon's world premiere production of "The Beggar's Opera." ...
www.operatheateroregon.com/shows.html
The Beggar's Opera on Broadway - BroadwayWorld.com
The Beggar's Opera TicketsThe Beggar's Opera ... for the 2009-2010 season. ...
broadwayworld.com/shows/?showid=2764
Yokohama Theatre Group - Japan - calendar
YTG activities and productions over the 2009/2010 season. The Beggar's Opera will
also be the first YTG-only event (not a co-production) ...
www.yokohama-theatre.com/?page=10&lang=1&mode...
"The Beggar's Opera" (Opera Nishchikh) plays March 31 at 7 P.M. at the Vakhtangov
Theater, ...
www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/brecht-bereft-of.../214127.html
We should take into consideration the financial problems faced by many nations on a
global scale due to the banking scandals and meltdowns which helped spur on these

productions. Five years on, we can look at productions of The Beggars

Opera /Threepenny Opera for 2014-2015, when the media tells us that we have
more economic stability, but with a continuance of war, suffering, corruption and suicide
bombings occurring in the ravaged Middle East, with a greater awareness of general
corruption and the stagnation of wages in the USA and Great Britain, we note that The
Beggars Opera/Threepenny Opera once again was used to portray the current economic
and political woes:
Examlpe, Great Britain: Feb. 28, 2014: Review: Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's musical
masterpiece, The Threepenny Opera, is the forerunner to many modern musical theatre works and
originates from John Gay's musical satire, The Beggars' Opera, written in 1728. Peter Rowe of Ipswich's
New Wolsey Theatre and Graeae's Jenny Sealey have collaborated to bring an anarchic version of Brecht's
theatrical vision to a breadth of regional theatres. The work still has economic and social parallels today
and this exciting new, decidedly rock'n'roll production by Graeae brings the story bang up-to-date, reflecting
current economic problems in the UK through text, songs, terrific projections and protest banners on the
auditorium walls. Threepenny Opera is at Nottingham Playhouse until March 8, then New Wolsey Theatre,
March 11-22, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, March 27-April 12 and West Yorkshire Playhouse, April 25May 10. See nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk for full details.

Example, United States: April 29, 2014, in Washington, DC, the Signature Theaters
MAX Theater : Focusing on a clash between the haves and the have-nots
intermixed with the antiheroic adventures of the criminal Macheath,
Threepenny Opera is the ultimate criticism of capitalism and inequality
themes that Director Gardiner notes are still as relevant as ever: We live in a
world of inequality. There is no question about that. The gap between the
haves and the have-nots has never been wider in America. Because of that,
Weill and Brechts scathing satire feels as relevant today as it ever has, and
MacDonald and Sams adaptation of this classic piece retells the tale of
Macheath for a modern audience in a truly thrilling and immediate way.

(http://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2014/04/29/threepenny-opera-signature-theatre/)
While theres no doubt that a number of defanged versions polluted American stages
with uninspired clones of the operas from the past, productions from colleges and
universities, in particular, reinterpreted and reinvented the operas to make them more
relevant to todays audiences.
April 2014 saw Frank Theatre bring the show to the Southern Theater in
Minneapolis, where it ran through May 4. The best critical piece ran like this:

any production of this or any other Brecht work should start with the expectation
that the producers/director will consider and embody current political and social
realities. Brecht himself expected no less. This production does just that, shining
an eerie spotlight on the easy re-emergence in our era of societal values not
considered morally defensible since the Gilded Age. While entertaining and even,

ironically, fun, the production raises the question in my mind as to which

despicable characters in Threepenny Opera I disapprove of most and why. In the
end, I conclude that whoever it is and whatever the reasons, I must indict myself
alongside them, because I know all too well the types of justifications and
compromises they all offer for their moral failings. Most of us readily use them to
disclaim much responsibility for the common good, particularly for common good
that includes those already on society's margins or beyond. The play holds up a
mirror, not for us to admire ourselves, but perhaps to actually see ourselves as
we are vis a vis our fellow human beings, many of whom we may rarely really
see or think about.
Bravo to Frank Theatre for their first 25 years and for having the courage,
wisdom, and skill to offer our community another compelling opportunity to both
enjoy and learn from Brecht's Threepenny Opera.

The famed painting by Hogarth, where Mcheaths two favorite wives beg for his life.

BAWDY BALLADS
We will only briefly touch upon the content of the ballads employed to convey some
timeless messages, since there is so much territory to cover concerning The Three Penny
Opera and The Mack two very interesting spin-offs from The Beggars Opera that
reverberate for us in modern times. To get a taste of how Gay rewrote the lyrics of
familiar and popular songs, we will look at two examples. Greensleeeves is an old, old
song still heard today, with its own spin-offs into Christmas carols, etc. One version of its
lyrics in Gays time (using our modern alphabet):

Alas my love, ye do me wrong,

to cast me off discurteously:
And I have loved you so long
Delighting in your companie.
Greensleeves was all my joy,
Greensleeves was my delight:
Greensleeves was my heart of gold,
And who but Ladie Greensleeves.
(Ref: http://www.the-tudors.org.uk/ladygreensleeves.htm)

Gay took Greensleeves to a new level (low, not high): our hero, Macheath, is a
convicted highwayman, robber and bigamist several times over. He sings to the tune of
Green Sleeves, contemplating the fact that he is about to be hung on Londons infamous
gibbet the Tyburn tree:
Act III, Scene xiii, Air XXVIIGreen Sleeves
Since laws were made, for every degree,
To curb vice in others, as well as me,
I wonder we hant better company
Upon Tyburn tree.
But gold from law can take out the sting;
And if rich men, like us, were to swing,
Twould thin the land, such numbers to string
Upon Tyburn tree.
Gay was not averse to changing the lyrics of even a funny, popular ditty. For
example, A Soldier and a Sailor was already well-known from the hit classic comedy
Love for Love (1695) by William Congreve (1670-1729). Its tune was written by John
Eccles (1668-1735):
A Soldier and a Sailor
A Tinker and a Tailor,
Had once a doubtful Strife, Sir,
To make a Maid a Wife, Sir,
Whose Name was Buxom Joan,

Whose Name was Buxom Joan.

For now the Time is ended
When she no more intended
To lick her Chops at Men, Sir,
And gnaw the Sheets in vain, Sir.
And lie o' Nights alone,
And lie o' Nights alone.
Air XI. A Fox May Steal Your Hens
A fox may steal your hens, sir,
A whore your health and pence, sir,
Your daughter rob your chest, sir,
Your wife may steal your rest, sir,
A thief your goods and plate.
But this is all but picking,
With rest, pence, chest and chicken;
-It ever was decreed, sir,
-If lawyer's hand is fee'd, sir,
-He steals your whole estate

I have to admit astonishment when I first understood what Gay had dared to do, but
when I researched when and where The Beggars Opera and its offshoots have been
produced, I was in for a surprise. Ever since Gays era, these productions have continued
to reach wide swathes of the worlds theater-going audiences, especially during those
times when their government was failing them and revolution was in the air.
John Richardson suggests that Gays unconventional operatic form was itself defiant:
The Beggars Operaarticulates dissent through form as much as through
content. It resists mercantilism.the Robinocracythe entire age not just by
reflecting them in a satiric glass, but by manipulating genre, skewing language,
and defying expectations of form. Critics have generally not focused upon the
plays form as part of its politics.
(Abstract, The Beggars Opera and Forms of Resistance, Eighteenth
Century Life, Vol. 24, No. 3, Fall 2000, pp 19-30)

Wherever an artistic community with access to heater has experienced more than
ordinary difficulties concerning personal liberties, oppression of the poor, corruption in
government and issues concerning human rights, especially freedom of speech, The
Beggars Opera is likely to be performed. Typically, it is likely to be performed with
altered lyrics representing the intolerables in that society, and typically, the production is
likely to get the sponsors and actors in trouble with the offended. An especially virulent
version, written by Vaclav Havel, was closed down by authorities almost as soon as it hit
the stage. This Amazon.com review by The Library Journal explains why:
Czech Republic President Havel's 1975 adaptation of British dramatist John Gay's 1728
political satire, The Beggar's Operamade him a blacklisted dissenter in the Czech
Communist regime. the play satirizes collectivism, lack of individual identity and
freedom, and the mistrust and corruption prevalent in Communist Czechoslovakia. The
bigamous hero-rogue Captain Macheath saves his neck by joining the wheeling-and-dealing,
double-crossing practices of the underworld, while pickpocket Havey Filch remains true to
himself until death. In the introduction, Peter Stein (Univ. of Pennsylvania) provides an
analysis of the play in its literary and political context.the play's November 1, 1975
premier, was secretly staged near Prague [with] consequent political persecution. Also
included are 11 black-and-white photographs of the premier.
(http://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Opera-Vaclav-Havel/dp/0801438330#noop )
In 2012, the Vclav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent was established by the Human Rights
Foundation (HRF) In New York. Pragues airport (Letit Vclava Havla Praha), bearing Vaclav
Havels name, also provides a stunning experience when one encounters a super-modern kiosk,
appropriately honoring Havel, who became the Czech Republics first President (2014),
On Dec. 20, 2011, Fero Feni, a well-known film director in the Slav region, circulated a
petition to the Czech government and Parliament to rename Prague Ruzyn Airport the Vclav
Havel International Airport. Quickly, over 80,000 signatures secured the name change (see
http://vaclavhavelairport.com/ and http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-19854293 for more
information ). The airport was officially renamed on October 2012, the anniversary of Havels
76th birthday. Havel died the year before.
The importance of The Threepenny Opera as rewritten by Vaclav Havel and performed
under threat of arrest, is underscored by the historic events of 1989, The Velvet Revolution
when the Czech people revolted successfully and peacefully against the Soviet Union under
Vaclavs leadership. The intensity and rapidity of the change is recounted here, in part:
The theatre behind the Velvet Revolution
17 November 09 07:56 GMT

By John Murphy Producer, 1989: Simpson Returns

A little-known theatre company took centre-stage in the Czechoslovak revolution of

1989.
"Marie remembers it better than me but, apparently, I came from stage right," says Petr Eckl,
the stage manager of the Magic Lantern Theatre Company. "I had a bottle of champagne in
my hand but I don't remember opening it."
"Yes, yes, you opened the bottle. I remember it really clearly," Marie Sucha, the theatre
company's head of costumes confirms excitedly. "And we gave you two glasses from the
costume department."
It was the first time in years that they had returned to Prague's Theatre Without a Balustrade,
where the Magic Lantern was based in those heady days of the Velvet Revolution in 1989.
Theatre becomes headquarters
The Berlin Wall had already fallen but there was little outward sign that Czechoslovakia's old
Communist guard was going to be shifted.
That was until 17 November, when the police violently broke up a student march, which the
authorities had previously approved.
Within a couple of days, hundreds of thousands of people joined huge demonstrations in
Prague's Wenceslas Square.
The dissident movement and others quickly formed Civic Forum, with the playwright Vaclav
Havel as moral leader.
They realised they needed a base, and a lighting technician suggested they use the Magic
Lantern's home, the Theatre Without a Balustrade.
Then on 28 November 1989 Petr Eckl's famous bottle of champagne was cracked open. The
nightly Civic Forum press conference had just been interrupted with the news that the
Communist leadership was resigning en masse.
In effect, it was Czechoslovakia's Berlin Wall moment. Sharing in the celebrations on stage
that night was not just Vaclav Havel, but also the hero of the Prague Spring of 1968,
Alexander Dubcek.
Special phone
"I was just astonished to be part of something so incredible," Petr recalls. "I was no dissident
and no revolutionary, but I can say that 90% of the people in the theatre supported what was
going on.
"We were a bit naive in some ways," he admits. "We just rushed about, dreaming up things to
do. We buttered bread, we collected money, handed out leaflets. The ballet girls acted as
runners between different theatres, since there was an actors' strike, and some people did
security."
Marie explains that for her "in some ways it was that feeling of things coming to fruition."
"I had taken part in a lot of the demonstrations earlier in the year, and suddenly the regime
was actually undergoing change," she says.
As Petr and Marie wander through the underground corridors behind the stage, memories
come flickering back.
Petr remembers they set up a special phone "just in case the whole thing went lopsided and
the secret police stormed the place."
The idea, they say, was to "lock Vaclav Havel in a room and he could make a last call to
Radio Free Europe or the BBC". (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/mobile/europe/8362596.stm)
Six years earlier, a politically correct version of The Beggars Opera, starring Roger Daltry as
Macheath, was made by BBC for television audiences during a period of sharply increased taxes
and other problems (1983). Of that production, one reviewer wrote:

Gay didn't write just another British working-class grumble about real or fancied oppression by
everybody in sight, as this production has it. He crafted a sly, funny dig at the upper classes as
aped by the lowest: outcasts, thieves and scalawags.

He recommended an older version, made in 1953, available only by special order from
Warner and outlets:

Baker, Henry Barton. from English Actors: From Shakespeare to Macready. New York: Henry
Holt & Co., 1879. pp. 34-35.
Today, we have as much need for The Beggars Opera and the Threepenny Opera as we have
ever had. Human nature doesnt change: we will always have corruption, scalawags, whores,
con-men and thieves at every level of society. So long as the freedom exists to modify these
plays to reflect the moral and political problems afflicting modern society, the voice of the people
will have a chance to be heard.