Beggar's Opera
Preserved but no longer current.
Opera produced in Lon- don in 1727 with enormous success. The words are by Gay and the music, partly traditional ballads and partly contemporary *'hits," was arranged by Pepusch. The "hero" is a highwayman, MacHeath, and the -originality lay in composing an opera round .-criminals and Newgate Prison.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Beggar's Opera” mean?
Opera produced in Lon- don in 1727 with enormous success. The words are by Gay and the music, partly traditional ballads and partly contemporary *'hits," was arranged by Pepusch. The "hero" is a highwayman, MacHeath, and the -originality lay in composing an opera round .-criminals and Newgate Prison.
Is “Beggar's Opera” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.